Stocks in Toronto were little changed on Wednesday as shares of energy producers slipped with the oil price, while the gold-mining sector followed the bullion price higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 9.92 points to greet noon at 15,147.10. The index is up about 11% this year.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.23 cents to 93.89 cents U.S.
The gold-mining sector jumped, with Goldcorp rising 1% to $30.04 and Barrick Gold gaining 0.5% to $20.05.
Financials advanced as Royal Bank of Canada climbed 0.6% to $78.33, and Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.4% to $72.16.
Shares of energy producers declined, with Canadian Natural Resources losing 0.7% to $48.81.
In corporate news, Potash Corp's chief executive said on Tuesday he will stick with the fertilizer producer's focus on supporting the price of potash by matching output of the crop nutrient to demand, rather than maximizing sales volume to fend off competition.
The stock was down 1.5% at $38.83 on Wednesday and had the biggest negative influence on the index.
Federal Finance Minister Joe Oliver is expected to announce Wednesday that he has enough support from the provinces to set up a national securities regulator. Sources say Saskatchewan and New Brunswick are ready to join Ontario and British Columbia in supporting the proposal, which is opposed by Quebec and Alberta.
Ottawa says it would be more far effective if the financial markets were policed by one national body instead of the current patchwork of 13 regulators.
Real estate company Royal LePage said the average price of a home in Canada increased between 3.9% and 5.2% in the second quarter of 2014 and prices are expected to go up steadily for the rest of the year.
According to the Royal LePage survey, the average price of detached bungalows rose 5.2% to an average price of $406,454. Meanwhile, standard two-storey homes rose 5.1% year-over-year to $440,972, while standard condominiums posted gains of 3.9% to $258,501.
In the economic docket, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said that the seasonally-adjusted annual rate of housing starts rose to 198,200 units last month from May’s total of 197,000 units.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.64 points to 1,025.86.
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive, with gold soaring 1.3%, information technology clicking 0.9% higher, and the metals and mining sector 0.7% to the good.
The four laggards were anchored mostly by health-care, down 1.1%, energy, off 0.4%, and the real-estate sector sliding 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks were back in the green Wednesday midday, after two days of selling.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved forward 31.79 points to 16,938.41
The S&P 500 inched up 4.55 points to 1,968.26, and the NASDAQ composite reversed direction and went up 16.94 points to 4,408.40.
Shares in Alcoa rose after kicking off earnings season by beating analyst estimates.
Overall, earnings for the companies in the S&P 500 are expected to be up 4.9% in the second quarter, compared with the same period last year, according to FactSet.
Shares in Gigamon were down again Wednesday after plunging a whopping 33% on Tuesday. The technology company had lowered its revenue guidance for the second quarter.
The Container Store was also suffering -- down around 9% -- after reporting sluggish same-store sales.
Citigroup is reported to be close to agreeing to pay $7 billion to settle a U.S. government investigation into the sale of mortgage backed securities. The deal would include billions in help for borrowers, according to the reports. The stock moved little in early trading.
JPMorgan paid $13 billion U.S. last year to settle similar charges.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will post minutes from its two-day June meeting at 2 p.m. ET, and investors will be scrutinizing them for any signs of an interest rate hike.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries fell a bit, raising yields to 2.58% from Tuesday’s 2.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded 95 cents to $102.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices vaulted nine dollars to $1,325.30 U.S. an ounce.
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