Stocks in Toronto edged higher on Thursday, sustaining a six-week high, as consumer and telecom stocks made modest gains, while shares in energy companies pulled back despite a further rise in crude oil prices.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index scaled back 3.2 points to greet noon at 12,863.96.
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.27 cents to 72.87 cents U.S.
Canadian Tire Corp. advanced 6.4% to $123.97 after its earnings beat expectations despite a slip in revenue. .
The country's largest wireless provider, Rogers Communications Inc, rose 1.1% to $49.25.
The energy group retreated, as Canadian Natural Resources declined 2.6% to $29.02 and Enbridge Inc fell 1.4% to $44.86.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd slumped 14.9% to $4.18 after providing 2016-2018 guidance on Wednesday.
On the economic front, Statistics Canada reported that Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits totaled 539,800 in December, down 0.5% from the previous month.
What`s more, the agency told us that wholesale sales rose 2.0% to $57.2 billion in December. Gains were recorded in four of seven sub-sectors, led by motor vehicle and parts. Excluding this sub-sector, wholesale sales edged up 0.1%. In volume terms, wholesale sales increased 1.8% in December.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recouped 3.64 points to 521.68
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were higher by noon hour, with gold soaring 3.3%, materials up 2.9%, and telecoms up 1.4%
The four laggards were weighed most by metals and mining, down 5.7%, energy, off 1.2%, and financials, off 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly lower Thursday, stabilizing after their largest three-day gain since August, as investors eyed oil prices and corporate news.
The Dow Jones industrial average shed 4.14 points greet noon at 16,449.62, as a rise in shares of IBM countered declines in Wal-Mart on the retailer's earnings report.
The S&P 500 slid 3.84 points to 1,922.98, with financials leading six sectors lower and utilities the top advancer.
The NASDAQ index eased 18.8 points to 4,515.26, as Apple and Netflix declined.
Wal-Mart was among the greatest weights on the Dow. The stock briefly traded more than 5% lower as its results and forecast were pressured by the strong U.S. dollar.
IBM, the top contributor to gains in the Dow, briefly jumped more than 6% in morning trade. Morgan Stanley upgraded IBM to overweight from equal-weight and raised its price target to $140 from $135.00 U.S. Separately, IBM Watson Health announced plans to acquire Truven Health Analytics for $2.6 billion U.S.
Wal-Mart beat estimates by three cents with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.49 U.S. per share, but revenue was shy of estimates as the company battled the effects of a stronger dollar. The retail giant also trimmed its full-year revenue forecast based on the U.S. currency's continued strength. The company also raised its annual dividend to $2 a share from $1.96 U.S. a share.
Weekly jobless claims came in at 262,000.
The Philly Fed index came in at minus 2.8 for February. The index has held in negative territory since September.
Leading indicators in January showed a decline of 0.2%, after a downwardly revised December report of a 0.3% drop
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.78% from Wednesday’s 1.81%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 39 cents a barrel to $31.05 U.S.
Gold prices picked up $11.70 to $1,220.20 U.S. an ounce.
