Canada's main stock index swooned in choppy trading midday Thursday as energy and mining stocks fell along with softer commodity prices, offsetting gains from other sectors including industrials and health-care.
The S&P/TSX composite index slumped 59.29 points to approach noon at 14,829.75
The Canadian dollar slid 0.37 cents to 81.21 cents U.S.
Suncor Energy was the biggest drag, down 1.1% at $35.85. Inter Pipeline Ltd stumbled 2.4% to $29.31.
Barrick Gold Corp gave back 1.3% to $14.07, while Goldcorp Inc lost 1.1% to trade at $20.98.
Health-care was bolstered by index heavy-weight Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which gained just over 1% to trade at $283.83.
On the economic calendar, Statistics Canada reported that its new housing price index rose 0.1% in April, following no change in March.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was negative 0.62 points to 681.68
All but four of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower by noon, with metals and mining tanking 2.4%, while gold and materials each suffered 1.3%
The four gainers were led by health-care, advancing 0.5%, industrials, moving out 0.2%, and utilities, inching up 0.02%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Thursday as investors cheered a good retail sales report while remaining cautious following mixed news on the Greece debt talks.
The Dow Jones Industrials were off its highs of the day, up 50.85 points to 18,051.25, with Boeing leading and Microsoft the greatest decliner.
The S&P 500 index stayed up 5.09 points to 2,110.29, with utilities leading seven sectors higher and energy the greatest laggard.
The NASDAQ moved higher 8.21 points to 5,084.90
On the corporate front, Nike gained on news the athletic apparel and footwear maker signed an eight-year NBA sponsorship contract, starting in 2017. Terms were not disclosed.
Rupert Murdoch, the 84-year old CEO and controlling shareholder of Twenty First Century Fox, is preparing to step down as CEO of the media giant and hand that title to his son James, according to numerous sources close to the Murdoch family.
Facebook holds its annual meeting later in the day, while earnings are expected from Bojangles, ExOne, Korn/Ferry and Restoration Hardware.
The European Commission has opened a formal probe intoAmazon.com's e-book business, focusing on agreements between Amazon and publishers. Regulators are focusing on clauses that require them to offer Amazon terms that are at least as good as those offered to competitors.
Krispy Kreme beat estimates by two cents with adjusted quarterly profit of 24 cents U.S. per share, though revenue fell slightly short. Comparable store sales for the doughnut chain were up 5.2% during the quarter, amid improving profit margins.
JetBlue reported its "load factor" for May at 85.7%, an improvement of 0.5% from a year earlier.
Retail sales for May showed an increase of 1.2%, with the ex-autos figure up 1%. April retail sales were revised upward to 0.2% from flat.
Economists polled by Reuters forecast retail sales rose 1.1% month-on-month and 0.7% excluding autos.
Weekly jobless claims totaled 279,000, slightly above expectations. April business inventories showed an increase of 0.4%, the largest gain in nearly a year. Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, rose a solid 0.6% in April.
Greece's Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ended talks on the debt negotiations without coming to a resolution. A European Union diplomat told Reuters the discussion was a "last attempt" to reach a deal, while Dow Jones reported that Juncker said in a statement that he held an "important, friendly and constructive meeting" with Tsipras.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.42% from Wednesday’s 2.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices moved back 91 cents a barrel to $60.52 U.S.
Gold prices retracted seven dollars at $1,179.60 U.S. an ounce.
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