Equities in Toronto were slightly below breakeven at Wednesday’s open, as investors awaited the release of quarterly earnings from major companies including Agrium Inc, IAMGOLD Corp and TMX Group Ltd.
The S&P/TSX Composite fell 11.27 points to begin Wednesday at 14,465.74
The Canadian dollar nosed up 0.1 cents to 76.37 cents U.S.
Agrium shares began the day up 24 cents to $118.97.
IAMGOLD shares doffed 12 cents, or 1.7%, to $6.83.
TMX, the group that owns the Toronto Stock Exchange, gained 22 cents a share to $57.58.
Government records showed a Husky Energy Inc oil spill into a major Canadian river on July 20 was the third in the same area in eight months, and could put new pressure on the province of Saskatchewan's energy regulator to improve its monitoring of pipelines.
Husky shares leaped 85 cents, or 5.6%, to $16.04.
Goldman Sachs raised the price target on First Quantum Minerals to $5.75 from $5.50, with a sell rating.
First Quantum shares docked 29 cents, or 2.6%, to $10.98.
Peel Hunt raised the rating on Ithaca Energy to buy from hold.
Ithaca shares poked up a penny, or 1.1%, to 95 cents.
Goldman Sachs raised the target price on Lundin Mining to $4.70 from $4.50. Lundin shares lost five cents to $5.44.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 0.26 points to start the session at 805.65
Seven of the 13 subgroups were lower in the first hour, as metals and mining blundered 2.2%, gold and materials stumbled 1.5% each.
The five gainers were led by consumer staples, ahead 0.7%, health-care, haler by 0.4%, and financials, richer 0.3%.
Information technology issues were unchanged early in the session.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities traded around the flatline on Wednesday as investors closely watched oil prices and digested more quarterly reports from companies.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 1.27 points to 18,312.50, as Goldman Sachs and Disney contributed the most gains on the Dow in early trade.
The S&P 500 doffed 0.54 points to 2,156.49
The NASDAQ Composite recovered 3.2 points to 5,140.93.
On the earnings front, several companies posted quarterly results before the bell, including Time Warner, which beat expectations on the bottom line.
Companies scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell include Tesla Motors, Marathon Oil, and Herbalife.
Wall Street also digested U.S. employment data, as the ADP private payrolls report came in better than expected.
The ADP report is often used as a preview to the nationwide jobs report, which is due Friday morning.
Other data due Wednesday include number and the ISM services number for July, due at 10 a.m. The Markit Services PMI for July came in at 51.8, showing slight expansion. Any number below 50 indicates a contraction.
The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release weekly U.S. inventory data at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, pushing yields down to 1.54% from Tuesday’s 1.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained 37 cents a barrel to $39.88 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $7.80 to $1,364.80 U.S. an ounce.
