Equities in Toronto maintained an upward posture on Tuesday after the Victoria Day holiday Monday, bolstered by bank stocks and a surge in BlackBerry shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed buoyant 39.14 points, to greet noon at 15,497.60
The Canadian dollar gathered 0.12 cents to 74.2 cents U.S.
BlackBerry stock jumped $1.14, or 8.1%, to $15.17, as investors raised expectations that the technology company's cyber security and automotive software sectors will post strong growth.
This month's global "ransomware" attack, dubbed WannaCry, has raised awareness of BlackBerry's security software business, while Ford Motor said late Friday it would start using an "over the air" system to update software on its interactive touchscreen system, which runs on BlackBerry software.
The most influential mover on the index was Toronto Dominion Bank, which rose 59 cents to $63.64. Royal Bank of Canada followed, with a 70-cent advance to $93.72.
Suncor Energy fell 38 cents to $42.92, while Encana Corp declined 19 cents, or 1.2%, to $15.10.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reports wholesale trade rose 0.9% in March and surpassed the $60-billion mark for the first time.
The agency reported gains in four of seven sub-sectors, accounting for 60% of total wholesale sales, and were led by the building material and supplies sub-sector.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange retained gains of 2.21 points to 809.11
The 12 TSX subgroups were evenly split by noon hour, as utilities bolted 1% higher, while information technology issues took on 0.9%, and financials vaulted 0.7%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by health-care, down 0.8%, energy, sputtering 0.5%, and consumer staples lost 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded higher on Tuesday as investors kept an eye on President Donald Trump's trip overseas while casting eyes at the White House 2018 budget.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average gained 43.97 points to 20,938.80, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 took on 5.81 points to 2,399.79, with utilities leading advancers and consumer discretionary lagging. Consumer stocks were pressured by shares of AutoZone, which fell nearly 9% after posting weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
The NASDAQ slid 9.84 points to 6,143.46.
The president met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. president will be in Europe for the rest of his trip.
Wall Street also paid attention to the White House's proposed budget for next year. In it, the White House is seeking to cut federal spending by $3.6 trillion over the next 10 years.
In economic news, new home sales fell 11.4% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,000. Economists had forecast new home sales would decrease by 1.5% to 610,000 units.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell back, raising yields to 2.27% from Monday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 12 cents at $51.25 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices dropped $4.40 at $1,257 U.S. an ounce.
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