Equities in Canada’s largest market faded slightly in morning trading on Thursday, boosted by shares of companies reporting positive earnings surprises, including Canadian Natural Resources.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dipped 4.92 points to greet noon at 15,260.71
The Canadian dollar revived 0.09 cents to 79.65 cents U.S.
The major oil sands operator's stock jumped 3.6% to $39.99 after it reported quarterly profit that topped estimates and said it will cut capital spending.
Other companies getting earnings-related boosts included gold miners Kinross Gold Corp and smaller rival Alamos Gold as well as financial services company Altus Group.
Kinross added 7.3% to $5.58, Alamos jumped 9.3% to $9.61, and Altus surged 13.9% to $13.01.
The gains were offset by a sharp fall in shares of Seven Generations Energy, down 8% at $18.86, after the natural gas developer lowered its 2017 production guidance while keeping its capital budget unchanged.
A 15.4% plunge in Sierra Wireless Inc stock also weighed on the market after the technology company missed earnings expectations, provided lower-than-expected guidance, and announced a plan to buy another company.
BCE slipped 0.8% to $58.94 after reporting strong wireless business growth that was offset by weakness in its fixed-line operations and higher expenses.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 0.81 points to 768.49
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups were higher by noon, with gold and real-estate co-leaders, gaining 0.3% each
The five laggards were weighed mostly by health-care, down 1.4%, while consumer staples and information technology each slid 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded flat to lower on Thursday following a record-breaking session for the Dow Jones industrial average.
The Dow fell 3.03 points to 22,013.21, with Home Depot contributing the most gains and McDonald's the most losses.
The S&P 500 skidded 5.99 points to 2,471.58, with energy leading decliners.
The NASDAQ dropped 14.96 points to 6,347.81.
Overall, calendar second-quarter earnings have been strong, with most major companies reporting better-than-expected results. Among them, electric car maker Tesla reported a smaller-than-expected loss Wednesday, sending the stock surging as much as 6% in pre-market trade.
Allergan, Global Payments, and Kellogg also posted quarterly results before the bell Thursday. Heinz, Motorola Solutions, Viacom and Western Union will report after the bell.
Wall Street also set its sights on U.S. economic data. U.S. jobless claims totaled 240,000 versus expectations of 242,000 according the U.S. Labor Department's Thursday report.
Looking ahead to Friday, investors may be taking a break ahead of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' its monthly employment report. Analysts expect the U.S. economy will have added 185,000 jobs in July.
Meanwhile, the IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index hit 54.7 in July, slightly higher than in June. But the Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing index showed growth in the services sector slowed last month.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.24% from Wednesday’s 2.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 15 cents to $49.74 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slid $3.80 to $1,274.60 U.S. an ounce.
