The Toronto stock market dipsy-dooled before finishing in positive territory on Tuesday afternoon as gold prices eroded further and political protests escalated in Egypt.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 49.27 points to conclude business Tuesday at 12,178.38
The Canadian dollar fell 0.48 cents at 94.79 cents U.S.
Markets in Canada were closed for Canada Day
Oil prices rose amid political uncertainty as political unrest continued in Egypt with massive protests to oust President Mohammed Morsi.
The TSX energy sector was up with Imperial Oil up $1.05, or 2.6%, to $41.20.
TSX technology stocks were down as Research In Motion lost 7.2%, or 80 cents, to $10.28 after reporting disappointing earnings on Friday.
The health-care sector led all advancers, with Extendicare leaping 32 cents, or 4.9%, to $6.82.
Among telecoms, TELUS Corp. gained 96 cents, or 3.1%, to $31.66.
Gold stocks such as Barrick Gold tumbled $1.28, or 7.7%, to $15.32.
Among metal issues, Teck Resources faded 79 cents, or 3.5%, to $21.68.
On the economic slate, RBC said its June Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index indicated that business sentiment continued to improve in the month with an index reading over 50 at 52.4.
Canada’s biggest bank said that, though the pace of improvement was down from May which had an index reading of 53.2, it represented the second highest reading since September of last year.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 4.41 points to 876.99
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were higher, led by health-care, increasing 2.1%, telecoms, up 1.6%, and energy, up 1.2%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by gold, down 2.9%, while metals and mining slid 2.2%, materials backed off 2.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks turned lower Tuesday afternoon, as investors tuned into the political turmoil in Egypt and took a cautious approach ahead of Friday's jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials lost 42.55 points to 14,932.40
The S&P 500 index dropped 0.88 points to 1,614.08. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite faded 1.09 points to 3,433.40
The holiday-shortened week could lead to some choppy trading this week.
U.S. markets close at 1 p.m. ET Wednesday and are closed Thursday for Independence Day.
Zynga shares rose more than 6% after the online gaming company announced that CEO Mark Pincus is stepping down. Don Mattrick, the former head of Microsoft's Xbox and gaming division, was named as Zynga's new chief.
Nielsen Holdings shares edged higher following news that the company will join the S&P 500 next week, replacing Sprint Nextel
Disney extended chairman and CEO Bob Iger's tenure through June 2016. Iger had previously been scheduled to leave his post in April 2015.
Apple shares were also on the rise, up more than 2%.
Investors were encouraged by a government report that showed factory orders rose 2.1% in May. That was slightly better than forecasts and signaled ongoing improvement in the manufacturing sector.
Investors are expected to remain cautious until Friday, when the U.S. Labor Department will release the June jobs report. Economists predict the U.S. economy added 155,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5% last month.
Economic data has been in sharper focus recently as investors consider when the Federal Reserve may start pulling back on its bond purchases.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury inched higher, dropping yields to 2.47% from Monday’s 2.49%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added $1.46 to $99.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slipped $15 to $1,240.70 U.S. an ounce.
