Equities in Toronto were little changed on Wednesday as the market braced for the outcome of a euro-zone finance ministers meeting where a debt deal for Greece will be discussed, while oil company shares dropped as crude prices were again pressured.
The S&P/TSX composite index moved higher 32.50 points to greet noon Wednesday at 15,145.02
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.32 cents to 79.10 cents U.S.
Financials gained as Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.9% to $66.07, and Toronto-Dominion Bank advanced 0.7% to $54.96.
Among shares of oil producers, Canadian Natural Resources lost 1.4% to $38.11 and Suncor Energy gave back 0.4% to $38.26.
In earnings news, Thomson Reuters forecast revenue to grow in 2015 after sales of financial products outpaced cancellations for the first time in six years in 2014. But the stock still dropped 2.9% to $48.32.
Air Canada tumbled 10% to $11.90 after the airline reported a bigger quarterly loss.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed higher 0.34 points to 691.38
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers, with telecoms surging 1.4%, consumer staples up 1.1%, and health-care up 0.7%.
The seven laggards were weighed by gold, down 0.8%, while industrials and the metals and mining group were down 0.6% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mixed on Wednesday as investors focused on developments in Greece's negotiations with the euro-zone finance ministers.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 43.28 points to 17,825.48, weighed by Caterpillar
The S&P 500 remained negative 0.83 points to 2,067.76
The NASDAQ index took on 15.91 points to 4,803.56.
Apple traded nearly 2% higher, boosting the NASDAQ as the top performing major index. The stock closed at $122.02 U.S. a share on Tuesday, giving the firm a record market cap of more than $700 billion U.S.
Lions Gate shares rose 8% on Wednesday on news that the entertainment company entered into a stock agreement with affiliates of billionaire John Malone.
Viacom shares traded lower after news late on Tuesday that Jon Stewart is leaving The Daily Show.
On the earnings front, PepsiCo beat estimates by four cents with adjusted fourth quarter profit of $1.12 U.S. per share, with revenue also beating forecasts. The beverage and snack giant does say it expects a "challenging and volatile" macroeconomic environment this year.
Time Warner reported adjusted quarterly profit of 98 cents U.S. per share, beating estimates by five cents. Revenue was slightly short of consensus, mostly due to declines at the Warner Brothers movie studio. Time Warner also raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to 35 cents U.S. per share.
Numbers from Baidu, Tesla Motors, Cisco Systems, MetLife, NetApp,Whole Foods, Applied Materials, Equifax and TripAdvisor are all due after the bell.
Little economic data is expected aside from the release of the monthly Federal Budget statement at 2:00 p.m. ET.
All eyes will be on the outcome of the Eurogroup meeting, currently going on.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is expected to ask for a "bridge program" to cover the government's funding needs while a new debt pact is agreed.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gave back a little ground, raising yields to 2.02% from Tuesday’s 1.99%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated $1.32 per barrel to $49.36 U.S.
Gold prices faded 69 cents an ounce to $1,223.70 U.S.
