Equities in Canada’s largest centre made slight gains in early trade on Tuesday, helped by rising railway and financial stocks while shares of energy companies weighed with lower oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite gathered 40.35 points to open Tuesday at 15,497.29
The Canadian dollar lost 0.5 cents at 75.92 cents U.S.
WestJet Airlines reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as the Canadian carrier flew more passengers.
WestJet shares dipped four cents to $22.20
CIBC raised the target price on AltaGas Ltd. to $39 from $37
AltaGas shares docked 35 cents, or 1.1%, to $30.35.
Canaccord Genuity started coverage on Auryn Resources with a speculative buy rating
Auryn shares took on a penny to $3.63.
Barclays drastically cut the target price on Open Text Corp. to $53 from $101, with an overweight.
Open Text shares gained 27 cents to $43.85.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued $7.2 billion worth of building permits in December, down 6.6% from November.
Lower construction intentions were recorded for all components, led by commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings.
The agency also revealed that Canada's merchandise trade balance with the rest of the world recorded its second consecutive monthly surplus, narrowing from a revised $1.0 billion in November to $923 million in December. Exports were up 0.8% while imports increased 1.0%.
Western University’s IVEY School of Business hit 57.2 in January, down from the 60.8 figure in December, and 66 in January 2016. The survey asks purchasing managers whether their orders increased, decreased or stayed stable during the month, and any reading over 50 indicates expansion, while under 50 shows contraction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 0.85 points to 825.52
All but three of the 12 subgroups moved higher, as consumer discretionary and industrial stocks climbed 0.5% each, while health-care gained 0.4%
The three laggards were gold, down 0.7%, materials, off 0.2%, and energy dipped 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities opened higher on Tuesday as investors focused on a slew of corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials charged higher 83 points to 20,135.42, and hit a new record high, with Boeing contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 recouped 5.61 points to 2,298.17, with industrials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ added 18.1 points to 5,681.66
General Motors, Archer Daniels Midland and Michael Kors were among the companies that reported before the bell. Disney, Gilead Sciences, Mondelez, Pioneer Natural Resources and Zillow are among many other companies due to report after the market close.
Calendar fourth-quarter earnings have mostly surprised analysts, with more than 65% of firms reporting better-than-expected earnings
In economic news, the U.S. trade deficit last year reached its highest level since 2012. For the whole year, the Commerce department said the deficit rose 0.4% to $502.3 billion.
Other data scheduled for release include the job openings and labour turnover survey later on this morning.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note faded slightly, raising yields to 2.43% from Monday’s 2.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 77 cents to $52.24 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained 30 cents to $1,232.40 U.S. an ounce.
