Equities in Canada’s largest centre ebbed and flowed Tuesday, before coming to rest pretty much where they finished Monday.
The TSX came to within 2.03 points of breakeven to close Tuesday’s session at 20,629.55.
The Canadian dollar inched up 0.03 cents at 74.81 cents U.S.
Among communications, the most prosperous of the gainers, Rogers sprinted $1.93, or 3%, to $66.52, while rival and takeover target Shaw moved higher $1.12, or 2.9%, to $39.55.
Consumer staples also fared well, with Metro strengthening $1.23, or 1.7%, to $75.61, while George Weston hiked $2.23, or 1.3%, to $175.02.
Among materials, Endeavour Silver gained 18 cents, or 3.9%, to $4.84, while Interfor spiked $1.51, or 7.1%, to $22.93.
In tech stocks, Softchoice Corporation fell 79 cents, or 4.2%, to $18.17, while Shopify shed $2.24, or 3.8%, to $56.67.
In energy stocks, Precision Drilling fell $2.78, or 2.5%, to $110.22, while MEG Energy lost 50 cents, or 2.5%, to $19.87.
In the consumer discreoinary field, Magna International slid $6.16, or 7%, to $81.41, while Linamar let go of 95 cents, or 1.5%, to $63.60.
Meanwhile, another interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada is looming large, with traders leaning towards a 25-basis-point hike on Wednesday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked higher 1.06 points to 623.03.
The 12 subgroups were evenly split by the close, with communications perking 1.4%, consumer staples up 0.9%, and materials, better by 0.8%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by information technology, down 1.1%, energy, off 1%, and consumer discretionary stocks, fading 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher Tuesday as investors parsed through the latest batch of corporate earnings reports for insight into the state of the economy.
The 30-stock index rumbled 104.4 points to 33,733.96.
The S&P 500 dipped 2.86 points to 4,016.85.
The NASDAQ Composite fell 30.14 points to 11,334.27.
Earnings season continued Tuesday with mixed results. 3M dropped 6.2% on disappointing guidance, while Union Pacific dipped 3.3% after the railroad company’s results fell short of analysts’ estimates. The unofficial start to big-tech results kicks off with Microsoft reporting after the bell.
The gains have come despite an underwhelming start to earnings season and more signs that the U.S. economy is slowing. Some investors hope these findings will prompt a pivot from the Federal Reserve when it convenes at its policy meeting next week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 3.46% from Monday’s 3.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices were lower $1.50 to $80.12 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $9.80 to $1,938.40 U.S. an ounce.
