Equities in Toronto inched lower midday Wednesday as broad gains offset losses among gold miners and other materials stocks.
The S&P/TSX Composite remained negative 1.15 points to greet noon at 14,475.86
The Canadian dollar nosed up 0.2 cents to 76.46 cents U.S.
Husky Energy Inc advanced 6% to $16.10. The company said it had reached agreement with China's CNOOC over a gas project.
Consumer staples rose as dairy company Saputo Inc jumped 5.1% to $41.78. Several analysts raised their price targets for the company's shares after it reported a profit jump, boosted its dividend, and said it remains interested in acquisitions.
The most influential weights included two of the world's largest gold producers, with Barrick Gold falling 1.9% to $29.18 and Goldcorp down 0.6% to $23.57.
The sector has in recent months helped to lessen the impact on the Canadian market of global shocks, including Britain's vote to leave the European Union, as investors back gold miners amid economic uncertainty.
Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd fell 3.7% to $4.38 after announcing quarterly results late on Tuesday.
Shares in Shopify Inc gained 2.4% to $45 after the e-commerce software maker reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss and provided a more upbeat outlook.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved backward 1.09 points to 804.30
Seven of the 13 subgroups were higher, with health-care better by 1.2%, energy stronger 1%, and consumer staples improving 0.2%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed mostly by metals and mining, off 1.5%, gold, duller by 1.2%, and materials, off 0.9%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks south of the border traded slightly higher on Wednesday despite a surprise build in oil inventories, while investors digested more quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials regained 14 points to 18,327.77, with Goldman Sachs, Apple and Disney contributing the most gains on the Dow.
The S&P 500 recovered 2.1 points to 2,159.13, led higher by financials and energy
The NASDAQ Composite moved ahead 5.14 points to 5,142.91.
On the earnings front, several companies posted quarterly results before the bell, including Time Warner, which beat expectations on the bottom line. Time Warner shares were up more than 3.5% in late-morning trade.
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 released Wednesday included the July ISM services number,which showed expansion, albeit slightly below estimates. The
Markit Services PMI for July came in at 51.4, showing slight expansion. Any number below 50 indicates a contraction.
Crude prices were broadly higher in late-morning trade, with U.S. oil advancing about 1% in choppy trade, near $39.92 U.S. per barrel, after the Energy Information Administration said oil inventories rose 1.4 million barrels last week.
The EIA also said, however, the number of gasoline barrels fell last week. West Texas Intermediate futures settled below $40.00 U.S. for the first time since April on Tuesday.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury sagged, lifting yields to 1.56% from Tuesday’s 1.55%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices regained $1.24 a barrel to $40.75 U.S.
Gold prices dropped $9.30 to $1,363.30 U.S. an ounce.
