Markets in Toronto doggedly worked their way into positive territory by the mid-point of the week, as health-care and energy issues pointed the way.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index forged higher 18.35 points to greet noon at 13,323.01
The Canadian dollar recovered 0.26 cents to 76.38 cents U.S.
Banks, such Toronto-Dominion Bank, were down 1.1% to $54.80, and Bank of Nova Scotia was off 0.6% to $61.60.
Royal Bank of Canada declined 0.6% to $73.65. Canada's biggest lender is facing shareholders at its annual meeting in Montreal amid concerns over its oil and gas exposure following an increase in bad loans in the first quarter.
Goldcorp slid 2.5% to $20.83 as gold fell.
The most influential gainers included Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which rose 6.2% to $40.12, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, which advanced 0.8% to $33.63.
Valeant added to Tuesday's gains as Bill Ackman, an activist investor and recent addition to the company's board, said a new CEO could be found in weeks rather than months.
On the economic front, Western University in London, Ontario reported that its seasonally-adjusted Ivey Purchasing Managers Index came in at 50.1 for March, down from 53.4 in February and 47.9 for March 2015.
The survey asks purchasing managers whether their expenditures increased, decreased or stayed put during the previous month. Any reading over 50 indicates expansion.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange strengthened 3.84 points to 587.36
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups were lower, with consumer staples trailing 1.1%, while gold fell 1%, and utilities subsided 0.7%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by health-care, sprouting higher 4.6%, energy, gushing 2.3%, and metals and mining, better by 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly higher Wednesday, helped by sharp gains in oil prices, as investors awaited the afternoon release of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
The Dow Jones Industrials sprang higher 86.6 points to 17,689.92, with Pfizer leading advancers and Caterpillar the greatest decliner.
The S&P 500 gained 12.93 points to 2,058.10, with energy rising more than 1% as one of the top advancers in the S&P 500.
The NASDAQ index gained 47.24 points, or 1%, to 4,891.18, as Amazon gained tacked on strength.
In corporate news, Pfizer abandoned its merger with Allergan following the Treasury's fresh moves to limit inversions. Shares of both companies were up about 3% or more in late-morning trade.
Separately, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a suit to block the merger of Halliburton and Baker Hughes. The two firms said in a press release they "intend to vigorously contest" the DOJ. Shares of Halliburton were up more than 5.5% and Baker Hughes traded 7% higher.
The Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the March 15-16 meeting are due at 2 p.m. ET. At that meeting, the central bank kept rates unchanged and lowered its projections for the number of hikes this year to two from four.
U.S. crude oil futures extended earlier gains to trade 4.5% higher after weekly crude inventories from the Energy Information Agency showed a draw of 4.9 million barrels.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell back, raising yields back to 1.76% from Tuesday’s 1.72%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices hiked $1.64 a barrel to $36.97 U.S.
Gold prices moved lower $3.93 to $1,227.42 U.S. an ounce.
