Equity markets in Toronto were little changed by noon Thursday as gains in Teck Resources Ltd. and stronger commodity prices helped offset disappointing quarterly reports from Potash Corp and Goldcorp Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 13.13 points to greet noon Thursday at 12,659.17
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.30 cents to 97.26 cents U.S.
The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, slipped with a jump in gold miners overshadowed by declines in Potash Corp.
Potash fell 4% to $37.59, playing the biggest role of any single stock in weighing the index down. The world's biggest fertilizer producer reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its outlook as prices for its crop
nutrients fell.
Goldcorp was down 0.9% at $28.99. The world's largest gold miner by market capitalization posted a second-quarter loss as a sharp drop in the gold price cut into profits and the company recorded a $2-billion non-cash impairment charge.
But shares of rival Barrick Gold Corp climbed 1.9% to $18.02 and had the biggest positive influence on the market.
Teck was also a big source of support, rising 2.7% to $24.33. The miner reported a drop in second-quarter earnings on lower copper and coal prices. But it also cut its capital spending plan through 2014, delaying new mining projects, a move seen helping it preserve cash.
Shares of energy producers climbed, with sector giants Suncor Energy Inc and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. making gains.
Husky Energy Inc rose 1.4% to $29.98 after Canada's number-three integrated oil company reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit as production rose and the company realized higher prices.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 2.59 points to 923.81
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, weighed by a 0.7% loss by real-estate issues, while utilities and consumer staples dipped 0.6% each.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 1.6%, metals and mining stocks, up 0.6% and materials, ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were under pressure Thursday following mixed earnings results and a pair of tepid economic reports.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 60.73 points to pause for lunch at 15,481.50
The S&P 500 index slipped 4.13 points to 1,681.81. The NASDAQ improved 6.78 points to 3,586.38
The drop in the Dow and S&P 500 comes after both indexes reached record highs earlier in the week. All three indexes have gained more than 18% so far this year.
More than a third of the companies in the S&P 500 have reported second-quarter results so far, according to S&P Capital IQ. As of Thursday morning, 66% had topped analysts' lowered expectations.
Shares of Facebook surged more than 25% Thursday, a day after the social networking site posted strong quarterly results, led by a marked improvement in its mobile business.
The momentum propelled Zynga's stock, as well. The app developer has games on Facebook.
Dow Chemical and Tripadvisor reported quarterly profit gains.
General Motors reported an improvement in second-quarter earnings but a slowdown in China pressured overall profits.
PulteGroup reported earnings and revenue that fell way short of forecasts.
Despite the weak results, the homebuilder said the housing market was on track to recovery.
Baidu shares surged 14% after the Chinese Internet company reported a second-quarter profit that topped analyst expectations.
Amazon and Starbucks are due to report after the close.
In economic news, the government released jobless claims data Thursday morning in line with expectations. Initial claims rose to 343,000 for the week ended July 20, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week.
New orders of durable goods, also reported by the Census Bureau, surged past expectations. The number jumped by 4.2% in June to $244.5 billion U.S. and has risen for four of the past five months. The increase is largely due to a $5.4-billion U.S. increase in non-defense spending for capital goods.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury drooped, raising yields to 2.62% from Wednesday’s 2.59%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 29 cents to $105.10 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices were $10.60 stronger to $1,330.30 U.S. an ounce.
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