Equity markets in Toronto were somewhat mixed Thursday afternoon while traders looked to U.S. job creation data coming out Friday.
The S&P/TSX composite index peeked ahead 0.37 points to greet noon at 13,615, after spending much of the morning in negative territory.
The Canadian dollar slipped off another 0.24 cents to 92.16 cents U.S.
The base metals sector declined while March copper lost three cents to $3.31 a pound. Teck Resources dropped 75 cents to $25.53 while HudBay Minerals fell 44 cents to $8.37.
February bullion was up as Kinross Gold faded five cents to $4.86.
The energy sector dipped as Canadian Natural Resources announced it had decided to keep the Montney shale gas assets that it put on the market early last year.
The Calgary-based oil, gas and oilsands producer says it received "a number of expressions of interest" for the assets but none was sufficient to merit a deal at this time. Its shares added three cents to $35.27.
The industrials sector made slight gains with Canadian Pacific Railway ahead $1.69 to $159.43.
The federal Transportation Safety Board says their preliminary investigation into a Canadian National Railways train derailment in northwestern New Brunswick has found a cracked wheel and a broken rail but it's too early to say what caused the train to leave the tracks.
A CN spokesman says the priority now is to extinguish the fire on three cars carrying crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas, along with burning diesel.
CN shares were 47 cents lower to $58.16.
On the earnings front, pharmacy chain The Jean Coutu Group (PJC) Inc. had $62.5 million of net income or 30 cents a share in its fiscal third quarter, an increase from $56.2 million a year earlier and two cents higher than analyst estimates.
However, the Quebec-based pharmacy chain's revenues were below estimates, falling to $712.5 million from $716.6 million. Its shares gained four cents to $18.67.
Economically speaking, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts in December came in at 195,760 units compared to 196,430 in November.
Moreover, contractors took out $6.8 billion worth of building permits in November, down 6.8% from the month before, while Statistics Canada’s new housing price index was unchanged in the same month, following a 0.1% advance in October.
Canadian jobs data also comes out on Friday with expectations that about 13,000 jobs were cranked out during December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange cooled off 0.75 points to 955.41
Eight of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower by midday, weighed mostly by metals and mining stocks, down 1.6%, while global base metals slid 1.2% and materials eased 0.4%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by health-care, up 1.1%, while consumer staples and financials were each up 0.2%
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks remained flat Thursday as investors digested the latest economic data and await the government's key jobs reports Friday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 44.37 points midday to 16,418.37
The S&P 500 index removed 3.41 points to 1,834.08. The NASDAQ went south 15.42 points to 4,150.19
On the corporate front, Macy's shares surged after the department store operator revealed cost-cutting plans late Wednesday that included laying off 2,500 workers and closing five stores. The retailer maintained its financial forecasts.
Bed Bath & Beyond tumbled more than 10% after the retailer reported quarterly earnings that missed estimates.
Family Dollar shares plunged after the budget retailer missed estimates on sales and profit, reported a drop in same-store sales, and lowered its guidance for the year.
Shares rose for Costco after it reported an increase in same-store sales.
Twitter dropped after a bearish analyst report from Cowen & Co. Twitter's stock has fallen recently due to concerns about its valuation.
Aluminum producer Alcoa was down after reaching a $384-million U.S. agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to allegations that it bribed officials in Bahrain in its business dealings there. The company will report fourth quarter results after the bell.
On the economic slate, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that the number of people filing jobless claims for the first time last week fell to 330,000, a drop of 15,000 compared to the previous week and better than what economists were predicting.
On Friday, the government will release its all-important December jobs report.
Economists predict the report will show 193,000 jobs were added in December, consistent with the solid hiring during the last four months of 2013. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 7%.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were lower, raising yields to 3% from Wednesday’s 2.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices eased 28 cents at $92.05 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dipped $1.50 to $1,224.00 U.S. an ounce.
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