The Toronto stock market was little changed mid-afternoon Wednesday as financial and mining stocks gained ground while the TSX was pressured by telecoms and utilities.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 7.91 points by the end of the day to 13,340.83
The Canadian dollar spiked 0.26 cents to 105.45 cents U.S.
The TSX tech sector was lower with shares in Apple rival Research In Motion Ltd. down 18 cents to $25.26.
The financial sector rose as Royal Bank climbed 50 cents to $53.56.
In the oil patch, Canadian Natural Resources gained 25 cents to $40.67.
The gold sector climbed as bullion prices backed off record levels for a second day. Goldcorp Inc. rose six cents to $51.43.
The September copper contract on the Nymex dipped a penny to $4.46 U.S. a pound. The base metals sector was up as First Quantum Minerals gained $1.43 to $139.94.
The telecom sector backed off with Rogers Communications down 77 cents to $37.36.
Microsemi Corp. has made a $548.7-million U.S. hostile takeover offer for Zarlink Semiconductor.
The U.S. semiconductor company said it has tried to launch private talks with Zarlink executives several times, including two written proposals made as recently as a month ago, and all of them were rejected without discussion. Microsemi’s latest offer works out to $3.35 a share, a 40% premium to Tuesday’s closing price and its shares jumped $1.21 to $3.60.
Chinese oil company CNOOC Ltd. is buying struggling Calgary-based oilsands producer Opti Canada Inc. for $2.1 billion. The announcement comes a week after Opti Canada filed for a court-supervised restructuring designed to transfer ownership of the oilsands developer to creditors.
The TSX said it was reviewing the company’s listing and suspended the shares from trading.
And Ensign Energy Services Inc. said it has agreed to acquire the land drilling division of Rowan Companies Inc. for $510 million, plus working capital. Ensign shares gained $1.12 to $20.51.
Canadian transportation giant Bombardier Inc. lost six cents to $6.38
On the economic slate, wholesale sales increased 1.9% to $47.6 billion in May, following a 0.1% decline in April, according to figures released this morning by Statistics Canada.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved forward 24.39 points to 2,017.86, while the Nasdaq Canada index was up 2.07 points to 552.27
In Toronto, seven of the 14 subgroups were lower. Industrials eased 1%, while telecoms were off 0.9% and consumer staples gave back 0.4%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by gold, up 0.5%, materials, ahead 0.4% and energy, inching up 0.3%. Information technology stocks were flat on the day.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks ended little changed Wednesday, as investors moved to the sidelines to survey the latest twists in the debt ceiling drama.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 15.51 points to 12,571.90 with United Technologies and Microsoft dragging on the blue chip index. Boeing and Bank of America posted the biggest gains.
The S&P 500 shed 0.89 points to 1,325.84, and the Nasdaq Composite Index moved lower by 12.29 points to 2,814.23
The market's softness came after U.S. stocks surged Tuesday, with the Dow staging its strongest one-day rally of the year, after President Obama indicated he would support a plan to raise the debt ceiling that had been floated by a bipartisan group of senators.
But investors remain cautious amid concerns that the Gang of Six's plan may not have enough time or support to make it through Congressional negotiations to increase the debt ceiling by Aug. 2.
After the debt ceiling debate plays out, one expert said the market will likely move higher -- thanks to healthy second-quarter earnings results.
Of the 88 S&P 500 companies that have reported earnings so far, 78% of them have beat expectations, according to Thomson Reuters.
Apple reported blowout earnings after the bell Tuesday -- hitting all-time highs with its quarterly profit and revenue, with iPhone and iPad sales. Shares of Apple rose nearly 3%.
Yahoo was the weakest performer on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, with shares falling almost 8%.
The company reported weakness in display and search revenue, as well as a lower-than-expected outlook in its second-quarter earnings report Tuesday.
After the bell, Dow components American Express and Intel were to issue their quarterly results.
Meanwhile, real estate site Zillow made its public debut on the Nasdaq on Wednesday under the ticker "Z." The company's stock soared 80%.
Tesla shares jumped 3% after the electric car company inked a deal to supply its electric battery and control technology to Toyota for $100 million U.S., according to Tesla's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
American Airlines announced a plan Wednesday to replace one of the largest commercial airline fleets, with hundreds of new leased airplanes from Boeing and Airbus. Shares of AMR Corp., the parent company for American Airlines, slipped 0.2%.
Wells Fargo agreed to pay an $85-million U.S. civil penalty for allegedly forcing borrowers into more costly mortgages, the Federal Reserve said. Shares of the bank rose 1%.
Economically speaking, the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales declined 0.8% in June to an annual rate of 4.77 million.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.93% from 2.89% late Tuesday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil for August delivery regained 59 cents to $98.09 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery dropped $4.20 to settle at $1,596.90 U.S. an ounce.
