Equities in Toronto were little changed on Tuesday as oil and gas stocks unexpectedly gained despite a long-awaited nuclear deal between six world powers and Iran that will put more Iranian oil on an already oversupplied market.
Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index recovered from a generally negative morning by pulling ahead 37.03 points, to pause for noon at 14,570.25
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.04 at 78.45 cents U.S.
The most influential decliners on the index included Toronto-Dominion Bank, which fell 0.9% to $51.93, and Royal Bank of Canada, which declined 0.8% to $76.34.
Encana Corp rose 2.5% to $12.53 and Suncor Energy Inc added 0.3% to $34.49.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 1.91 points to 645.37
Nine of the 14 TSX subgroups pulled ahead midday, with energy streaking 2.1%, health-care better by 1.9%, and materials stronger by 0.9%.
Of the five laggards, utilities and global base metals were the worst off, each down 0.5%, while financials sank 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded higher on Tuesday as investors eyed economic reports and earnings that continued to indicate less-than-robust growth, amid news of a deal in Iran.
The Dow Jones industrial average gathered steam, gaining 62.57 points to 18,040.25, with UnitedHealth leading advancers and Johnson & Johnson the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 progressed 8.89 points to 2,108.49, with energy leading nine sectors higher and utilities the only laggard.
The NASDAQ index added 36.74 points to 5,108.25.
Second-quarter earnings season kicked off with banks JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo and pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson reporting before the opening bell. CSX and Yum Brands report after the close.
JPMorgan Chase delivered quarterly earnings that topped analysts' expectations on Tuesday, helped by lower expenses. Revenue beat expectations slightly but was lower year-over-year.
Johnson & Johnson reported a 4% rise in quarterly profit as sales of its mainstay older drugs managed to offset the impact of a strong dollar on overseas revenue.
Wells Fargo posted earnings per share in-line with estimates on revenue slightly below expectations.
On the economic slate, retail sales showed a decline of 0.3%, missing expectations of a 0.3% increase.
In other economic news, May business inventories rose 0.3%, in-line with expectations. Business sales rose 0.4% after increasing 0.5% in April.
U.S. import prices unexpectedly fell in June as the lingering effects of a strong dollar offset rising costs for petroleum products, keeping imported inflation pressure under wraps.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained slightly, lowering yields to 2.41% from Monday’s 2.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 71 cents a barrel to $52.91 U.S.
Gold prices erased 90 cents at $1,154.50 U.S. an ounce.
