Equity markets in Toronto rose on Thursday, bolstered by a rise in energy and financial stocks, but a dip in resource shares offset some of the gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index had gained 52.24 points to head into noon hour Thursday at 15,695.23
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.1 cents at 74.54 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Royal Bank of Canada, which rose 0.6% to $97.62, and Bank of Nova Scotia, which advanced 0.8% to $78.74. Toronto-Dominion Bank was also a top mover, up 0.5% to $66.6.
Energy companies were also higher, TransCanada Corp, which won U.S. approval for the construction of the Keystone XL crude oil pipeline last month, rose 0.9% to $62.64. Suncor Energy was up 0.7% to $41.73.
Offsetting gains was a 0.8% fall to $25.80 by Barrick Gold.
The miner said on Thursday that China's Shandong Gold Mining will pay $960 million for a 50% stake in Barrick's Veladero gold mine in Argentina.
Raging River Exploration dropped 5.5% to $9.32 amid a report that it has hired an advisor to explore a possible sale.
In corporate earnings news, Corus Entertainment reported a lower-than-expected profit, hurt by higher costs. Shares were down 1% to $12.83.
On matters economic, Statistics Canada reported that municipalities issued $7.5 billion worth of building permits in February, down 2.5% from January.
The agency attributes much of this decline to lower construction intentions for single-family dwellings and institutional structures.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 1.7 points to 818.60
Six of the 12 TSX subgroups remained higher late in the morning, as energy chugged along 0.7%, health-care was 0.6% haler, and financials were richer by 0.5%.
The five laggards were weighed most by gold, down 0.6%, while real-estate and utilities each sagged 0.1%. Information technology stocks were unchanged.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities alternated between gains and losses on Thursday as Wall Street turned its eyes to a key meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Dow Jones Industrials progressed 56.62 points to 20,704.77, with Caterpillar gaining the most.
The S&P 500 gained 6.64 points to 2,359.59, as energy outperformed the rest.
The NASDAQ Composite added 14.44 points to 5,878.91
The two-day meeting was set to begin Thursday in Mar-a-Lago, Florida and the two leaders are expected to discuss a series of issues, including trade and North Korea
On the data front, weekly jobless claims fell to 234,000, well below an expected print of 250,000. On Friday, investors will pore over the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly employment report.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell slightly, raising yields to 2.37% from Wednesday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 47 cents at $51.62 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices went up $4.30 at $1,252.80 U.S. an ounce.
