Toronto's main stock index eked out a small gain in choppy trade on Tuesday, as advances among financial issues and some resources stocks were offset by declines in other sectors.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended Tuesday 18.58 points higher to 13,929.35.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.02 cents to 101.1 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold, which reports quarterly earnings on Thursday, was up 1.4% $48.66, while Goldcorp rose 1.7% to $43.56.
Resources found support as Chinese inflation data came in lower-than-expected, easing concerns that the world's second-largest economy -- and a major consumer of the commodities -- would have to tighten its monetary policy. Lower interest rates tend to support gold buying.
A softer U.S. dollar, which extended losses against the euro after U.S. retail sales data missed expectations, also underpinned the precious metal.
Financial issues rose, as Royal Bank of Canada was up 0.7% at $55.72 and Manulife Financial advanced 2.4% to $18.69.
Energy stocks were mixed, with Canadian Natural Resources up 0.7% to $44.68 and Husky Energy off 1.1% at $27.67.
On the downside, fertilizer companies reversed recent gains as some grain prices fell. Potash Corp was down 3.4% at $60.63 while Agrium Inc fell 2.9% to $94.26.
Almost 3,500 unionized shopcraft, office, clerical, and mechanical workers at Canadian National Railways have overwhelmingly approved collective agreements with the railway and one of its subsidiaries that will increase pay scales by 11.4% over four years. The deal also covers 575 owner-operator truck drivers for CNTL, a CN subsidiary. CN shares were down nine cents to $69.14.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange was up 14.12 points to 2,394.58, while the Nasdaq Canada index fell back 1.56 points to 808.31.
In Toronto, nine of the 14 subgroups pointed higher. Gold shone 1.6% brighter, while financials were 0.4% richer and utilities improved 0.3%.
The five laggards were weighed mostly by global base metals, and their cousins among metals and mining, off 1.5%. Consumer discretionaries lost 0.5%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks headed lower Tuesday as investors digested a weaker-than-expected report on January retail sales.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 41.55 points to close at 12,226.60.
The S&P 500 index moved down 4.31 points to 1,328.10. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 12.83 points to 2,805.99, with a 3% drop in shares of Netflix weighing on the tech-heavy index.
The losses came a day after the online movie rental company's stock rose to an all-time high.
Chipmaker Qualcomm said Monday it is developing a new platform, to bring Netflix and other video streaming services onto Google Android-enabled smartphones.
NYSE Euronext -- the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange -- was one of the worst performers on the index. Shares dropped 3% after the company announced it agreed to merge with Germany's Deutsche Boerse -- creating the world's largest exchange group.
Sirius XM Radio reported a loss of two cents U.S. per share in the fourth quarter, and issued a 2011 sales outlook that was slightly below analysts' expectations. Shares were down 6.6%.
Hotel chain Marriott announced late Monday its plans to split into two separate, publicly traded companies. Under the plan, Marriott will spin off its timeshare operations and development business as a new independent company. Shares were up 1.7%.
After the closing bell, Dell will report its quarterly results. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings per share of 37 cents U.S., on $15.71 billion U.S. in revenue.
Economically speaking, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.3% in January, down from an increase of 0.5% in December. Sales were expected to have gained 0.5% in January, according to consensus estimates from economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Sales, excluding autos and auto parts, also rose to a weaker-than-expected 0.3% -- compared to a 0.5% increase in ex-auto sales in December. Economists had forecast a rise of 0.6% in the measure for January.
The price index for U.S. imports increased 1.5% in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics stated. The report cited higher prices for fuel and nonfuel imports as contributors to the advance. U.S. export prices rose 1.2% in January, following increases of 1.5% in November and 0.6% in December.
A separate report from the government showed that business inventories rose 0.8% in December, after edging up 0.2% the previous month. Economists were expecting inventories to increase 0.6%.
Tuesday morning, the National Association of Homebuilders released its preliminary housing market index for February.
The index held steady at 16, missing expectations to rise to 17.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury nipped ahead, lowering the yield to 3.62% from Monday’s 3.63%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery slipped 51 cents to $84.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $9 to $1,374.10 U.S. an ounce.
