Canada’s main stock indeed was slightly higher shortly after the open on Thursday, as gains among energy and resource issues countered losses among techs and industrials.
The S&P/TSX composite index took on 25.35 points to open Thursday at 15,330.12
The Canadian dollar gained 0.29 cents to 81.97cents U.S.
Tech stocks proved a drag on the market, with BlackBerry giving back 13 cents, or 1.1%, to $12.00, and Sierra Wireless sliding 30 cents, or 0.7%, to $45.08.
Industrials plummeted, too, with TransForce losing $1.25, or 4.4%, to $27.00
Energy stocks spiked, as LightStream Resources galloped eight cents, or 6.9%, to $1.24, and Pacific Rubiales Energy climbed 26 cents, or 7.4%, to $3.77.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped forward 2.61 points to 700.16
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower in the first hour, with information technology scaling back 0.5%, while industrials skidded 0.3%, and real-estate lost 0.2%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by energy, surging 1.4%, gold, up 0.5%, and materials 0.4% to the good.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range on Thursday as investors eyed a heavy day of earnings and some economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials backtracked 38.87 points to 17,999.40, with 3M the greatest laggard and Caterpillar leading advancers.
The S&P 500 index was negative 0.28 points to 2,107.68, with information technology the greatest of six lagging sectors and telecommunications the greatest advancer.
The NASDAQ index moved lower 0.09 points to 5,035.08
Among the slew of industrial earnings reports before the bell, Caterpillar surprised analysts by beating expectations on both earnings per share and revenue. The stock gained about 1.5% in morning trade.
3M reported earnings that missed expectations on both the top and bottom line. The company cited the impact of the strong dollar and cut its profit forecast for the year.
General Motors delivered quarterly profit and revenue that missed expectations. Weaker volume in Brazil and Russia hurt sales, as well as the impact of weakening currencies in South America due to the strong U.S. dollar.
PepsiCo delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations. However, revenue fell 3.2% to $12.22 billion U.S. in the first quarter ended March 21, from $12.62 billion U.S. a year earlier, largely due to a strong dollar.
After the market close, Amazon.com, Google, Microsoft, Starbucks,Capital One are all due.
Weekly jobless claims showed an increase of 1,000 to 295,000.
New home sales for March came in weaker than expected, at 481,000 in March, versus the 510,000 unit estimate.
Manufacturing PMI showed that growth in the U.S. manufacturing sector dipped more than expected in April, with factory activity showing the slowest momentum since January, according to financial data firm Markit.
The preliminary U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 54.2 in April from the final March read of 55.7. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the April figure would come in at 55.5.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries remained static, keeping yields at Wednesday’s 1.98%.
Oil prices gained $1.00 to $57.16 U.S.
Gold prices stayed still at $1,186.90 U.S.
Related Stories
