Equities in Toronto had gone negative by midday Thursday, as enthusiasm waned over sharp gains for shares of major banks whose quarterly earnings impressed investors.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index removed 36.12 points to move into noon hour at 15,383.37
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.22 cents to 74.35 cents U.S.
The country's biggest bank, Royal Bank of Canada, rose 46 cents to $93.46, after reporting an 11% profit increase, beating market forecasts, on strong performances in its capital markets and wealth management businesses.
Toronto-Dominion Bank was up 74 cents, or 1.2%, at $63.78, after its earnings also exceeded expectations, helped by a strong performance at its retail and investment banking businesses.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce slipped $1.20, or 1.1%, to $105.10 after reporting a softer beat than its two larger peers.
Manulife Financial had dropped a nickel to $23.49 after it named Roy Gori, an executive from its Asia division, to replace the retiring Donald Guloien as chief executive officer.
Forestry products company Tembec Inc jumped $1.13, or 38.3%, to $4.08, after accepting a buyout offer from Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc for $4.05 a share.
The energy group slumped heavily, after a delegate of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said the producer group had decided to extend cuts in oil output to March 2018.
Imperial Oil lost 41 cents, or 1.4%, to $38.40, while Encana Corporation docked 36 cents, or 2.5%, to $14.34.
Gold also slid as Barrick Gold dumped 56 cents, or 2.5%, to $21.88, while Goldcorp skidded 18 cents, or 1%, to $18.21.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that average weekly earnings were positioned at $966.00 during March, not much different from February, and up 0.9% from March 2016.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 0.7 points to 801.69
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups moved higher in the first hour, as financials climbed 1%, energy improved 0.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.4%.
The three laggards were gold, down 1.2%, health-care, off 0.4%, and materials, 0.3% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as Wall Street remained positive about the Federal Reserve's plan to trim its balance sheet, while tech stocks climbed.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its highs of the morning, but remained positive 52.58 points to 21,065, with UnitedHealth contributing the most gains.
The S&P 500 stayed higher 8.77 points to 2,413.16, rising above its previous record of 2,405.77. Information technology was among the best-performing sectors, rising 0.6%. Tech has been on a tear this year, surging more than 19%.
The NASDAQ rumbled higher 35.68 points to 6,198.71, climbing over the previous peak of 6,170.16, as Netflix, Alphabet, and Facebook shares all rose. Amazon also rose, nearing the $1,000 per share mark.
According to the minutes from its May 3 meeting, which were released Wednesday, the Fed sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without reinvesting.
Investors also kept an eye on oil prices after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to extend production cuts by nine months. That disappointed some investors, who had hoped that OPEC might reduce output even further to drain a global glut that has depressed markets for almost three years.
In economic news, jobless claims hit 234,000 last week, rising slightly from the previous week, but remained near their lowest levels in more than 40 years.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recovered, lowering yields to Wednesday’s 2.25%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices faded $1.86 at $49.50 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained four dollars at $1,257.10 U.S. an ounce.
