Stocks in Toronto were little changed on Thursday as sluggish oil prices weighed on shares of energy producers, offsetting a gain in the financial sector.
The S&P/TSX composite index regained 22.40 points to greet noon at 15,494.29
The Canadian dollar removed 0.81 cents to 90.62 cents U.S.
The benchmark index is up more than 13% since the start of 2014.
The energy sector has been under pressure in the last three months, as the price of oil has been slipping. Brent crude hit a two-year low on increasing concerns over rising supply and sluggish demand.
Shares of energy producers dropped, with Canadian Natural Resources giving back 0.2% to $44.60 and Encana declining 0.7% to $24.71.
Financials advanced as Royal Bank of Canada climbed 1% to $82.04, and Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.6% to $72.78.
BlackBerry shares jumped 3.2%, to $11.59, after the smartphone maker said it has acquired Movirtu, a provider of virtual identity solutions.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada’s new housing price index for July came in unchanged, following a 0.2% increase in June. The agency says monthly price increases in eight metropolitan areas offset decreases in seven areas, resulting in no change to the Canada level index.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 6.52 points to 977.48.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher by noon, with health-care springing up 1.1%, while information technology gained 1%, and consumer discretionary stocks gained 0.5%.
The two laggards were energy, down 0.6%, and gold, off 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
The U.S. stock market moved lower on Thursday as investors digested an uptick in jobless claims and speculation that the Federal Reserve could adopt a more hawkish attitude toward interest rates at its meeting next week.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 29.76 points to 17,038.95
The S&P 500 dipped 2.83 points to 1,992.86. The NASDAQ slumped 10.95 points to 4,575.57
LuluIemon shares jumped following stronger-than-expected earnings from the yoga-gear maker.
RadioShack shares rallied 6.4% as the electronics retailer said it’s in advanced talks with a number of parties overits strategic options. Actions may include debt restructuring and store consolidations.
Shares of Lululemon jumped 14% after the yoga-gear maker raised its outlook following second-quarter results beat expectations.
Kroger shares rose 1.2% after the grocery chain beat second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations and raised its outlook.
Jobless claims rose by 11,000 in the latest week, rising to 315,000. Analysts were expecting a drop of 2,000. The data follows the August payroll report, released last week, which was also weaker than expected.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries were flat, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 2.53%.
Oil prices were down 52 cents to $91.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped 60 cents to $1,244.70 U.S. an ounce.
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