Equities in Toronto turned mildly positive after hitting a five-month low in morning trade on Thursday, boosted by a rebound in heavyweight financial stocks, while mining stocks were lower, along with prices of commodity metals.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged ahead 0.23 points to greet noon at 15,273.91
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.02 cents to 73.58 cents U.S.
The index's materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, weakened by noon hour ET.
The Trump uncertainty continued to weigh on copper prices, which hit a one-week low, as expectations of U.S. infrastructure spending plans were undermined.
First Quantum Minerals declined 31 cents, or 2.6%, to $11.56, but Teck Resources made its way higher five cents to $24.63. HudBay Minerals shed 15 cents, or 2.7%, to $7.09.
Gold prices edged lower after notching their biggest one-day spike since Britain voted to leave the European Union on Wednesday.
Barrick Gold lost 54 cents, or 2.3%, to $22.72 and Goldcorp fell 49 cents, or 2.5%, to $18.92.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada reported those Canadians drawing regular employment insurance benefits numbered 551,100 in March, down 2,900, or 0.5%, from February.
Moreover, the agency said, foreign investment in Canadian securities amounted to $15.1 billion in March, largely in Canadian corporate instruments. At the same time, Canadian investors boosted their foreign holdings to $15.4 billion, led by acquisitions of U.S. equities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tumbled 9.09 points, or 1.1%, to 798.78
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher by noon, as information technology stocks climbed 0.6%, while consumer discretionary and financial stocks moved up 0.5% each.
The five subgroups falling were headed by gold, down 1.9%, materials, sliding 1.2%, and real-estate, off 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as investors assessed the future of Donald Trump's presidency and his chances of moving forward with his pro-growth agenda.
The Dow Jones Industrials Average poked ahead 19.24 points to 20,626.17, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 stayed above water 4.19 points to 2,361.22, with telecommunications advancing 1.25 percent to lead advancers.
The NASDAQ hung onto gains of 23.1 points to 6,034.34.
Among companies reporting earnings Thursday are Gap Inc., Hibbett Sports and Perry Ellis.
U.S. equities suffered their worst day of the year Wednesday, with the Dow dropping 372 points, on the back of news that former FBI Director James Comey put together a memo outlining a conversation in which Trump allegedly asked him to halt an investigation into former National Security adviser Michael Flynn.
In economic news, weekly jobless claims totaled 232,000, below the expected 240,000. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve business index rose to 38.8 in May from 22.0 in April.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were unchanged, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.22%.
Oil prices recouped 26 cents at $49.33 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gave back $4.50 at $1,254.20 U.S. an ounce.
