The Toronto stock market shed early losses to advance Wednesday afternoon as investors balanced a positive reading on the U.S. services sector with an unexpectedly weak report on private sector job creation in the United States.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 55.21 points to close Wednesday at 13,559.69
The Canadian dollar inched forward 0.04 cents to 90.27 cents U.S.
But shares of Intact Financial were lower after the insurer said fierce winter weather drove down quarterly net operating income to $143 million or $1.05 a share, missing estimates of $1.49 a share. Its shares fell 76 cents to $66.75.
The energy sector was ahead even as Imperial Oil dropped 21 cents, to $45.20, and Suncor advanced 20 cents to $35.21
The telecom sector declined, with TELUS off 70 cents at $37.02.
The gold sector fell as Barrick Gold skidded 62 cents to $20.59, and Goldcorp let go of 29 cents to $27.53.
The base metals group was down as the March copper contract closed unchanged at $3.19 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gave back a penny to $26.35.
Elsewhere on the corporate front, the union representing 3,000 workers at Canadian National Railways, including conductors and yard workers, has given CN a 72-hour strike notice. CN shares regained eight cents, however, by the close, to $59.40.
The euro-zone's private sector logged its busiest month in two and a half years in January as strong manufacturing growth outshone a more modest expansion in services activity, surveys showed.
On matters economic, figures released by Statistics Canada revealed that building permits issued by Canadian municipalities declined 4.1% to $6.5 billion in December, following a 6.6% decrease in November.
The agency added that lower construction intentions for commercial buildings and multi-family dwellings in Ontario and British Columbia were responsible for much of the decrease at the national level in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange staggered 5.21 points to 942.50
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were ahead on the day, led by energy stocks, chugging 1% higher, financials, better by 0.9%, and real-estate, improving 0.6%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by telecoms, down 1.3%, gold, sliding 1.2%, and materials, down 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors were unwilling to make any big moves Wednesday, with an important jobs report coming at the end of the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 5.01 points to end the session at 15,440.23.
The S&P 500 index moved lower by 3.56 points to 1,751.64. The NASDAQ subtracted 19.97 points to 4,011.55
The Dow has fallen more than 7% since the start of 2014. The selling has fueled speculation about a so-called correction, typically defined as a drop of 10% or more.
CVS Caremark said it will stop selling tobacco products, starting Oct. 1. Shares fell on the move, which CVS said will result in $2 billion U.S. of lost revenue.
Shares of 3D Systems plunged after the company warned that earnings will be below its previous forecast. Rival 3D printing companies Stratasys, ExOne and voxeljet all fell sharply as well.
After a big runup last year, 3D printing stocks have come crashing down in 2014. So far this year, 3D Systems has been the hardest hit -- shares are down 35% year to date. But some traders are still betting that 3D printing technology has long-term potential.
Merck reported earnings and sales in line with forecasts, while GlaxoSmithKline raised its dividend as it posted earnings-per-share that came in slightly below expectations.
Time Warner announced a new $5-billion U.S. share buyback program as it reported slightly better-than-expected earnings. Shares rose on the news.
Twitter will report quarterly results after the close -- the first since last year's IPO.
Shares of mobile chip company ARM Holdings rebounded a bit after posting a sharp drop Tuesday. ARM's stock has fallen by 20% since the start of 2014
Investors have been rattled by concerns about emerging markets, where central banks have been struggling to shore up shaky currencies. Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been scaling back its bond-buying program.
On Wednesday, payroll processor ADP said that 175,000 jobs were added in January. That was in line with expectations but was the slowest level of growth since August. The government will release its latest figures about job growth and the unemployment report on Friday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries faded, driving up yields to 2.67% from Tuesday’s 2.62%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 14 cents to $97.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hiked seven dollars to $1,258.20 U.S. an ounce.
