Equities in Canada’s biggest market moved slightly higher on Thursday as gold miners bucked bullion's fall after an August selloff and investors cheered the expansion of Tim Hortons into Britain.
The S&P/TSX Composite moved higher 11.79 points to greet noon at 14,609.74.
The Canadian dollar added 0.05 cents at 76.36 cents U.S.
The coffee and doughnut chain's owner Restaurant Brands International Inc was among the most influential movers on the index, up 2.2% to $63.73.
Gold miners also gained, even as the price of gold fell, after having lost significant ground over the course of August, with Barrick Gold adding 2.5% to $22.84.
Dollarama Inc rose 0.7% to $97.57 after the dollar store operator reported a higher-than-expected profit.
Shares in Canadian Western Bank gained 1.8% to $26.81 despite a drop in third-quarter earnings and a warning that lower crude prices will keep its oil and gas loan portfolio under strain in Alberta.
Shares in First Majestic Silver Corp declined 5.1% to $15.00 after a hedge fund disclosed a short position in the stock.
Both Potash Corp and Agrium Inc slipped after two days of gains tied to their announcement of talks to merge. Farmers plan to pressure regulators to protect their interests in any deal.
Potash Corp declined 0.8% to $23.56 and Agrium slipped 1.3% to $124.69.
On the economic front, the Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index registered 51.1 in August, down from 51.9 in July, to signal a marginal overall improvement in business conditions.
The headline index has now posted above the 50.0 no-change mark for six months running, but the latest reading was the weakest recorded during this period.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 5.34 points to 791.09
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were lower midday, as health-care surrendered 0.7%, while energy and utilities moved lower 0.4% each.
The five gainers were led by gold, bolting 2.6% higher, while materials strengthened 1.6%, and information technology added 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday, with bank stocks tumbling, as investors digested a slew of economic data ahead of Friday's key jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials slumped 89.27 points to greet noon at 18,311.61, with Caterpillar leading decliners and Nike the top
advancer.
The S&P 500 dropped 11.23 points to 2,159.62, with financials leading all sectors lower.
The NASDAQ Composite dived 14.5 points to 5,198.72
The August employment report is due for release Friday morning. Investors will closely read the report, looking for clues about whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September.
Experts say market expectations for a September rate hike were at 30% Thursday morning
Second-quarter productivity dropped at a 0.6% annualized rate, while weekly jobless claims came in at 263,000, slightly above expectations.
Other data due Thursday include the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing index, which came in at 49.4, the weakest read since January. The Markit manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index stateside came in at 52.0. A number above 50 reflects expansion.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.57% from Wednesday’s 1.58%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded $1.11 at $43.59 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices remained positive $5.40 at $1,316.80 U.S. an ounce.
