The Toronto stock market was little changed Tuesday while key economic data reinforced the view that the U.S. recovery is still on track, helping to make up for worsening conditions in Europe
The S&P/TSX index poked ahead 8.71 points to greet noon ET at 12,703.85
The Canadian dollar was up 0.17 cents at 98.54 cents U.S.
On the commodity markets, Barrick Gold Corp. faded 41 cents to $29.07 while Iamgold fell 24 cents to $6.98.
May copper was a cent lower at $3.36 U.S. a pound after closing Monday at an eight-month low, reflecting lower demand amid a slow global economic recovery. The base metals sector moved down and HudBay Minerals declined 16 cents to $9.48.
Utilities led advancers as Atlantic Power gained 13 cents to $4.87.
The energy sector was slightly higher while Suncor Energy gained 17 cents to $31.
The consumer staples was up as convenience store owner Alimentation Couche-Tard gained 66 cents to $55.72.
Insurers helped keep the financial sector positive as Manulife Financial rose 10 cents to $10.84.
In corporate news, TransCanada Corp.shares gained 26 cents to $49.55 as it begins to seek firm commitments for new pipeline capacity to move oil from Western to Eastern Canada.
The Energy East Pipeline project will involve 3,000 kilometres of existing natural gas pipeline, converted to carry crude, and 1,400 kilometres of new pipeline that could stretch as far as New Brunswick. TransCanada is seeking binding commitments for delivery points in Montreal, Quebec City and Saint John, N.B.
Traders also looked ahead to March employment data for Canada and the U.S. coming out Friday.
Economists expect American job gains totaled about 190,000 in March after the economy cranked out 236,000 jobs in February, with the unemployment rate staying unchanged at 7.7%.
In Canada, Statistics Canada was expected to report that about 10,000 jobs were created in March. However, CIBC said in a note that it expects only about 5,000 new positions following a blowout performance in February when 50,700 jobs were created.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange docked 10.89 points to 1,078.67
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by noon, led by consumer staples and utilities, each up 0.9%, while financials churned ahead 0.6%.
The four laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 2.6%, materials, sliding 1.9%, and the metals and mining group, sagging 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Strength in the health care sector gave stocks a shot in the arm Tuesday, pulling the Dow to a record trading high.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 98.20 points to a new intraday high of 14,671 by midday.
The S&P 500 index moved higher 10.40 points to 1,572.57. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite progressed 26.49 points to 3,265.67.
It's been a solid 2013 for stocks: Even with a slight retreat Monday, all three major indexes are still up between 7% and 11% for the year.
Tuesday's rally was fueled by the health-care sector.
Shares of health-care firms including Humana, United Health and Aetna rose between 2% and 7%, a day after the government announced a 3.3% increase in Medicare Advantage rates for next year.
That was welcome news for the industry, considering a 2.3% cut had been floated previously.
Major automakers reported solid monthly sales figures for March. Sales at both Ford and GM jumped 6%, the best month in several years for each company.
The tech sector received a few spots of bad news, courtesy of Goldman Sachs analysts.
Hewlett-Packard shares slid nearly 5% after Goldman downgraded the firm to "sell."
Goldman also kicked Apple off its "conviction buy" list and cut the price target to $575 from $600 U.S. Still, the investment firm is retaining its "buy" rating for Apple, whose shares were up about 1.5% Tuesday.
On the economic slate, the Census Bureau reported that factory orders jumped 3% in February. That was slightly better than expected, and follows an underwhelming report on U.S. manufacturing Monday.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, upping yields to 1.86% from Monday’s 1.84%. Treasury prices yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell back 42 cents to $96.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices tumbled $19.30 to $1,580.20 U.S. an ounce.
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