Canada's main stock index remained in the green on Thursday, as oil prices reversed course to trade higher, resulting in gains in energy shares.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index stayed positive 21.35 points to greet noon at 15,192.60
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.02 cents at 75.34 U.S.
Shares of miners fared well, as Lundin Mining jumped 34 cents, or 6.2%, to $5.73, followed by Guyana Goldfields Inc, which rose a penny to $5.29
Precision Drilling fell 21 cents, or 6.4%, the most on the TSX, to $3.06, followed by Aphria, down 47 cents, or 4.1%, to $10.88.
In the economic docket, Statistics Canada reported Thursday morning that average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $1,004 in September, little changed from the previous month.
Compared with 12 months earlier, says the agency, earnings increased 1.8%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was unchanged at noon hour from 591.69
Eight of the 12 subgroups had drooped by midday, health-care sliding 1.6%, real-estate down 0.7%, and information technology fell 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by energy, climbing 1.7%, consumer staples, up 0.7%, and materials, gaining 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks traded lower on Thursday as investors' hopes of a trade deal between China and the U.S. dimmed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average doffed 83.43 points to 25,283, amid media reports that White House advisor Peter Navarro would be attending the dinner between President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Buenos Aires at the G-20.
The S&P 500 slid 8.99 points to 2,734.80.
The NASDAQ backtracked 29.63 points to 7,261.96.
News of Navarro’s attendance dampened hopes that a trade deal could be hatched at the dinner given his longstanding hawkish tone on U.S.-China trade. Earlier this month, Navarro said any deal between the U.S. and China would be on Trump's terms, not Wall Street's. These comments were later disavowed by Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council.
Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods fell about 7.7% after J.P. Morgan downgraded them to neutral from overweight.
Boeing's stock bucked the negative trend, rising 1% after Cowen named it its number-one aerospace stock for 2019.
On Wednesday, the Dow surged more than 600 points to post its second-best day of the year. The index's gains came after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank's benchmark interest rate to be close to a neutral level, which marks a step away from comments made in recent months.
President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet at the upcoming G-20 summit in Argentina on Saturday. The two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing trade dispute between their countries.
The U.S. has implemented tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods this year. China has responded with tariffs of its own on U.S. goods. The ongoing spat has sent ripples across financial markets as investors assess its impact on corporate earnings and the economy.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose sharply, thus lowering yields to 3.03% from Wednesday’s 3.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.48 to $51.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices brightened $2.60 at $1,226.20 U.S. an ounce.
