Stocks in Toronto wobbled around the breakeven point midday Wednesday, after higher oil prices lifted the energy sector.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 4.3 points to greet noon Wednesday at 16,497.90
The Canadian dollar gained 0.16 cents at 75.01 cents U.S.
The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Hexo Corp, tallying 60 cents, or 7.6%, to $8.50, and First Quantum Minerals, rising 22 cents, or 1.4%, to $16.23.
Aphria Inc fell 56 cents, or 4.8%, the most on the TSX, to $11.02, after Cormark Securities cut its price target on the cannabis producer.
The second-biggest decliner was Western Forest, down seven cents, or 3.6% to $1.86, after TD Securities downgraded the company's stock to "hold" from "buy".
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada’s consumer price index rose 1.9% on a year-over-year basis in March, following a 1.5% increase in February. On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, the CPI rose 0.3% in March.
Also, Canada's imports declined 1.6% in February, while exports were down 1.3%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world narrowed slightly, from $3.1 billion in January to $2.9 billion in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 1.31 points to 611.28
Eight of the 12 Toronto subgroups had dropped in value by noon ET, with consumer staples swooning 1.4%, information technology down 0.8%, and real-estate sliding 0.7%
The four gainers were co-led by energy and consumer discretionary stocks, each up 0.5%, and industrials, up 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks initially rose as investors cheered strong earnings from companies like Morgan Stanley and PepsiCo, along with better-than-expected economic data out of China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average regained 3.42 points to 26,456.08
The S&P 500 skidded 3.15 points to 2,903.89
The NASDAQ Composite gained 0.92 points to 8,001.15
Morgan Stanley shares rose 1.3% after posting earnings and revenue that topped expectations. The banking giant’s results were boosted by sales in its wealth management and fixed income trading divisions.
PepsiCo also reported stronger-than-forecast earnings as sales in its Frito-Lay business grew by 5.5%. The stock rose 2.7%. Rail transportation giant CSX, meanwhile, saw its stock rise more than 5% on the back of its quarterly results.
Overall, 84.6% of the S&P 500 companies that have reported calendar first-quarter earnings have topped analyst expectations
Not all stocks reacted positively to their quarterly reports, however. IBM reported better-than-expected earnings, but its stock fell 5.5% as its revenue fell for a third straight quarter. Netflix also fell 1.6% as its guidance for second-quarter earnings disappointed investors.
Qualcomm, meanwhile, rallied 13% — adding to a sharp rise in the previous session — as investors continued to cheer the chipmaker settling a lawsuit with tech giant Apple.
Qualcomm’s rally lifted the broader chipmaker space.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury were unchanged, keeping yields at Tuesday’s 2.59%.
Oil prices gained six cents to $64.11 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked 20 cents to $1,277.00 U.S. an ounce.
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