Markets in Toronto were little changed by noon on Wednesday, as losses for railway stocks were offset by gains among natural resource companies.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index held onto gains of 20.76 points to greet noon at 15,217.44
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.02 cents to 79.91 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index included Canadian National Railway Co, which fell 2.3% to $99.17 despite reporting profit and revenue that beat expectations after the closing bell on Tuesday.
Its smaller rival, Canadian Pacific Railway, retreated 1.4% to $196.31.
Loblaw Ltd fell 4.3% to $68.39 after barely beating profit expectations, while electronics manufacturer Celestica Inc lost 4.1%to $16.11 after its earnings missed forecasts.
Shares in Home Capital Group Inc rose as much as 4.5% after the company said it had repaid the outstanding balance on a $2-billion loan provided by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. However, they later retreated and were last down 0.8% at $14.47.
E-commerce company Shopify advanced 3.1% to $118.68 as investors position for a positive surprise from its upcoming earnings report.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.19 points to 768.96.
Eight of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher as morning became afternoon, with energy pumping 1.6% higher, health-care better by 1.1%, and information technology picking up 0.6%
The four laggards were weighed most by consumer staples, down 1.5%, industrials, off 0.5%, and real-estate, sliding 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Equities in the States traded higher as more companies continue to report strong quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrials vaulted 108.58 points to 21,722.01, to hit a record high. Boeing rose 8% and contributed the most gains on the 30-stock index.
The S&P 500 picked up 2.07 points to 2,479.20, improving on Tuesday’s all-time high, as telecommunications led advancers.
The NASDAQ added to Tuesday’s all-time high, gaining 9.27 points to 6,421.44
Dow-component Boeing posted earnings per share of $2.55, topping Wall Street estimates. The company's sales came in below expectations but the firm raised its full-year earnings guidance to a range of $9.80 to $10 per share.
Coca-Cola and Ford also posted better-than-expected quarterly results.
Earnings season has been strong thus far. With 34% of S&P 500 components having reported as of Wednesday morning, 78% have beaten expectations on the bottom line and 73% have topped on sales
In economic news, mortgage applications rose just 0.4% seasonally adjusted compared with the previous week. New home sales rose 0.8% in June.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were lower, raising yields to 2.34% from Tuesday’s 2.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 66 cents to $48.55 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices darted lower $4.20 to $1,247.90 U.S. an ounce.
