Canada's main stock index gave back earlier gains, but held just slightly above water by noon hour ET on Tuesday, helped by gains in shares of material and energy companies due to a rise in oil and gold prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 7.63 points to greet the early afternoon at 16,285.36
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.17 cents at 76 cents U.S.
Gold stocks led the charge, as Barrick Gold gained 36 cents, or 2.1%, to $17.63, while Goldcorp popped 28 cents, or 1.6%, to $18.33.
Techs also made gains, as BlackBerry jumped 46 cents, or 3.6%, to $13.14.
In utilities, Hydro One picked up 26 cents, or 1.3%, to $20.30, while Fortis Inc. acquired 40 cents, or 1%, to $42.42.
Suncor Energy docked two cents to $53.48 while Canadian Natural Resources faded 19 cents to $47.26.
Among industrial issues, Bombardier declined nine cents, or 1.7%, to $5.11, while Canadian Pacific Railway capsized $5.63, or 2.3%, to $235.29.
In the consumer staples field, Metro gave back 14 cents to $44.55, while Saputo dipped 58 cents, or 1.3%, to $43.07.
Libya's National Oil Corp aimed the move on loadings from Zueitina and Hariga ports, resulting in 850,000 bpd of supplies being disrupted.
Steel pipe maker Tenaris SA is temporarily laying off workers and adjusting production at a Canadian plant because of uncertainty in the steel market following tariffs imposed by the United States
Optimism around North American Free Trade Agreement talks returned following the victory of Mexican leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as a top adviser to the presidential winner said Obrador will jumpstart talks to renegotiate the 24-year-old pact.
The White House said on Monday Canada's decision to enact tariffs on $16.6 billion worth of American goods in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on imports of Canadian steel and aluminum would not help its economy.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 2.48 points to 743.22
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups gained ground by midday, with gold climbing 1.3%, information technology up 1.1%, and utilities ahead 1%.
The five laggards were weighed most by industrials and consumer staples, each down 0.7%, and consumer discretionary stocks, fading 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell on Tuesday as tech shares dropped sharply, offsetting solid gains in energy.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 132.36 points to conclude Tuesday’s session at 24,174.82, with Apple falling more than 1.5%
The S&P 500 dipped 13.49 points to 2,713.22, with tech sliding 1.3%.
The NASDAQ slumped 65.01 points to 7,502.67, as Micron fell 5.3% and Facebook dropped 2.3%.
U.S. markets closed early on Tuesday (1 p.m. EDT) ahead of the Fourth of July holiday.
The moves Tuesday come after stocks eked out a gain on Monday, despite by concerns about a spat between the U.S. and its key trade partners.
President Donald Trump’s administration is set to activate tariffs on Chinese goods worth around $34 billion on Friday, which is widely expected to trigger a tit-for-tat response from Beijing.
Wall Street however, also looked ahead to Friday in anticipation of the latest jobs report, which is expected to be a strong one. Economists expect the U.S. economy to have added 200,000 jobs in June.
Prices for the benchmark for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.84% from Monday’s 2.86%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 26 cents to $73.68 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices advanced $12.60 to $1,254.30 U.S. an ounce.
Related Stories
