Stocks in Canada’s financial capital found some traction on Thursday as losses for financial sector concerns offset gains for the materials group.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index recovered 22.88 points to greet noon at 13,934.17
The Canadian dollar dropped 0.3 cents to 78.73 cents U.S.
The index has rallied more than 20% since hitting a nearly 3-1/2-year low in January.
Among financials, Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.6% to $77.43, and Toronto-Dominion Bank declined 0.4% to $56.15.
Bombardier fell 2.9% to $1.69. The Trudeau government says it will not give the struggling aircraft maker federal aid without assurances on jobs, investment in research and the location of the company's headquarters.
Consumer staples stocks also lost ground. Alimentation Couche-Tard was down 1.8% at $57.02.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, rose as Barrick Gold picked up 3.2% to $20.71, while Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc rallied 2.8% to $23.37.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that in February, 548,700 Canadians received regular Employment Insurance benefits, up 4,200, or 0.8%, from January
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 4.12 points to 658.37.
Seven of the 13 TSX subgroups had turned positive by noon hour, with gold vaulting 3.6%, materials up 2.8%, and energy gushing 0.9%.
The five laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, ailing 1.5%, real-estate, down 1.1%, and financials, declining 0.6%.
Information technology issues were flat midday.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly lower Thursday, after recently closing near their highs of the year so far, as investors eyed earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 50.75 points noon hour to 18,045.52. Verizon and Travelers contributed the most to declines in the Dow, while IBM contributed the most to gains.
The S&P 500 faded 7.44 points to 2,094.96. Telecoms were the greatest decliner in the index, while health care led advancers.
The NASDAQ index slid 2.5 points to 4,945.63, as Microsoft, Facebook and Biogen traded higher. Alphabet, Microsoft, Starbucks and Visa are among those scheduled to report earnings after the close.
In U.S. economic news, the Philly Fed Index was minus 1.6 in April. Weekly jobless claims came in at 247,000, the lowest since 1973.
In other economic news, the FHFA Housing Price Index showed a 0.4% rise in February, after a downwardly revised 0.4% rise in January.
Leading indicators in March rose 0.2%
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, raising yields to 1.87% from Wednesday’s 1.85%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices docked 53 cents a barrel to $43.65 U.S.
Gold prices gained $6.89 to $1,251.14 U.S. an ounce.
