Canada's main stock index rose on Tuesday, with gains among heavyweight financial stocks on talk of a U.S. interest rate hike in March offsetting losses for shares of energy companies as oil prices fell. Health-care stocks also prospered.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained positive 34.58 points to greet noon at 15,491.52
The Canadian dollar lost 0.43 cents at 76 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the Canadian index included the country's biggest bank, Royal Bank of Canada, which rose 0.6% to $95.28, and Manulife Financial, which advanced 1.1% to $24.92.
Meanwhile the energy group slipped as Tourmaline Oil fell 1.8% to $29.48 and Enerplus lost 2.7% to $11.36.
Parex Resources Inc rose 4.1% to $16.22 after the oil and gas company replaced its chief executive officer and said its proved plus probable reserves had grown 37%
Restaurant Brands International Inc advanced 1.1% to $64.99 after the owner of the Burger King and Tim Hortons chains provided some 2016 earnings guidance ahead of its full release next week.
Canadian National Railway gained 1.3% to $90.92, while rival Canadian Pacific Railway advanced 0.3% to $194.01.
Westjet Airlines Ltd added 0.3% to $22.30 after it reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit.
Asanko Gold Inc declined 6.5% to $4.60 and Pretium Resources Inc fell 2.4% to $15.81 after it said its costs had increased as it moved to complete a speedier construction of its Brucejack mine.
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 regained 1.15 points to 827.52
All but two of the 12 subgroups moved higher, as health-care gained 1.2%, materials picked up 1%, and gold shone 0.7% brighter.
The two laggards were energy, down 1.2%, and telecoms, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities rose on Tuesday as investors focused on a slew of corporate earnings reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained buoyant 69.78 points to 20,122.20, toward a new record, with Boeing contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 was up 3.64 points to 2,296.20, with industrials rising more than 0.5% to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ added 19.84 points to 5,683.39, also a new all-time high.
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 earning
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 released include the job openings and labour turnover survey (JOLTS), which showed job openings in the U.S. totaled 5.501 million at the end of December.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note regained strength, lowering yields to 2.4% from Monday’s 2.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.05 to $51.96 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained three dollars to $1,235.10 U.S. an ounce.
