Markets in Toronto seesawed in early trading on Wednesday, as key sectors, including energy and financials, turned positive after opening lower.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 63.20 points to open Wednesday at 14,968.11.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.25 cents to 80.69 cents U.S.
Rogers Communications Inc has agreed to pay more than $400 million to acquire struggling wireless carrier Mobilicity, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.
The deal includes the sale of spectrum covering the Ottawa region and eastern Ontario to Wind Mobile, another small operator, for a yet-to-be-determined price, the sources said. The agreement will be brought before a court overseeing Mobilicity's creditor protection process for approval, the sources said. Rogers dropped a penny to $42.58.
TransCanada Corp and Encana Corp both said on Tuesday they were cutting jobs, joining other Canadian energy firms that have laid off staff since global oil prices slumped.
TransCanada, the backer of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline project, said it cut 185 jobs following a restructuring to lower costs for customers affected by weak oil and natural gas prices.
TransCanada shares gained 16 cents to $53.77, while Encana added seven cents to $14.86.
Credit Suisse cut the price target on Denison Mines Corp to $1.35 from $1.50 to reflect sensitivity to spot and long-term uranium prices, liquidity and debt covenants. Denison shares nicked up two cents to 97 cents.
Credit Suisse also cut the price target on Paladin Resources to $0.35 from $0.40 due to capital raising risk and price sensitivity to lower than expected spot and long-term uranium prices. Paladin shares let go of half a cent to 27 cents.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 0.03 points to 683.17
Nine of the 14 TSX subgroups were higher in the early going, with metals and mining soaring 2.2%, global base metals picking up 1.6%, and gold, up 1%.
The five laggards were weighed most by telecoms, off 0.2%, while consumer discretionary and health-care stocks each faded 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower on Wednesday as discouraging developments in the Greece debt talks weighed on investor sentiment, amid domestic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 61.06 points to open the session at 18,083.01, with DuPont leading laggards and only Apple and Home Depot advancing.
The S&P 500 index moved lower 4.63 points to 2,119.57, with materials leading nine sectors lower and utilities the only gainer.
The NASDAQ dipped 9.04 points to 5,151.06, from Tuesday's all-time high.
After the close on Tuesday, Netflix announced a seven-for-one stock split, payable on July 14 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 2. The stock spiked more than 2% to a record high in early trade Wednesday.
Kroger, SuperValu and other supermarket stocks are in focus after Dutch supermarket operator Ahold announced a deal to buy Belgium's Delhaize. Ahold operates the Stop&Shop and Giant chains in the United States, while Delhaize is the parent of Food Lion.
Tyson Foods and McCormick hit all-time highs on Wednesday.
Homebuilders jumped after Lennar topped earnings estimates on both the top and bottom lines as the housing market improved.
In U.S. economic news, the final read on first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data showed a decline of 0.2%, in-line with expectations and above a previous estimate of a 0.7% contraction.
The improved read supports the improving trend in more recent economic reports that indicate moderate growth in the second quarter. Better performance strengthens the Federal Reserve's case for raising short-term interest rates as early as September.
The U.S. Treasury is scheduled to auction $35 billion of five-year notes at 1 p.m. ET.
A Greek government official said that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had told associates that Greece's proposed measures had not been accepted by creditors, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Prior to the news, recent reports had indicated progress towards a resolution ahead of Greece's June 30 payment deadline to the International Monetary Fund on June 30. The Eurogroup meets in Brussels on the matter at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.40% from Tuesday’s 2.41%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added four cents a barrel to $61.05 U.S.
Gold prices erased $2.70 at $1,173.90 U.S. an ounce.
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