Canadian shares fluctuated as gains among miners offset declines in energy producers and banks.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.2 percent to 15,044.50. Five shares advanced for every four stocks that declined half of the ten share groups were in the positive territory.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, gained 0.4 percent as gold futures reclaimed the $1,200-an-ounce level.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, rose 0.4 percent to C$22.16. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, added 0.8 percent to C$14.48.
August gold on Comex ticked up 0.9 percent to $1,200.20 an ounce.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, fell 0.7 percent as oil futures turned lower, pressured by an estimate showing strong May output from the OPEC.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, fell 0.6 percent to C$36.15. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, surrendered 1 percent to C$38.00.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July crude traded at $59.62 a barrel, down 1.1 percent, after tapping an earlier high above $60 a barrel. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell 1.4 percent to $64.62 a barrel.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, skidded 0.1 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, lost 0.4 percent to C$78.72. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, gave up 0.2 percent to C$54.06.
Bank of Nova Scotia (TSE:BNS), the third-largest, rose 0.9 percent to $66.02 after getting ratings upgrades from RBC Capital Markets and Cormark Securities on improvements in its International business.
BlackBerry (TSE:BB) fell 2 percent to C$11.97. The Canadian smartphone maker said it and Typo Products LLC have settled their dispute over Typo’s snap-on keyboard accessory for the iPhone, which BlackBerry alleged infringed on its iconic keyboard. As part of the settlement, Typo has agreed to permanently discontinue selling keyboards for devices with a screen size of less than 7.9 inches, BlackBerry said. Other terms weren’t disclosed.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) fell 0.1 percent to 691.66 at 12:22 p.m. in Toronto.
In economic news, business conditions in the Canadian manufacturing sector deteriorated in May for a fourth month in a row as new orders and employment remained soft, data showed today.
In the U.S. market, shares fluctuated today as investors assessed a mixed bag of economic reports including consumer spending, construction and manufacturing. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) was little changed at 2,108 at 11:39 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) added less than 0.1 percent at 18,022, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) was up less than 0.1 percent at 5,071. Most followed shares included Intel, Altera, Microsoft, Rosetta Stone, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celladon, CTi BioPharma, Molycorp, OM Group, Dollar Tree, and Citigroup.