Canadian shares advanced for a third day as investors eyed Greek debt developments. The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) rose 0.3 percent to 15,147 at 12:49 p.m. in Toronto. Seven out of the ten main share groups were in the positive territory.
Negotiations over Greece’s debt continued as the first of four payments comes due this Friday to the International Monetary Fund. The payments total almost 1.6 billion euros ($1.78 billion) this month. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he will press creditors to be realistic about what his country can accept.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, climbed 0.8 percent. Canaccord Genuity Group (TSE:CF), Canada’s largest non-bank brokerage, gained 4.9 percent to C$7.04, even as it reported a fourth-quarter loss, hurt by restructuring costs.
Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB) gained 1.8 percent to C$48.62 after Canada’s seventh-largest bank raised its quarterly dividend while reporting a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit.
Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, rose 1.2 percent to C$80.04. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, rose 0.9 percent to C$54.84.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, tumbled 0.5 percent as Oil prices briefly pared losses but continued their fall today.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, rose 0.9 percent to C$36.47. Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, skidded 0.7 percent to C$38.21.
Front-month Brent futures had dropped $1.20 from their last settlement to $64.20 a barrel by 12:04 p.m.. U.S. crude futures were down $1.10 at $60.16 a barrel.
Raw-material shares were flat. Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, fell 0.9 percent to C$22.06. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, lost 0.4 percent to C$14.82.
Spot gold slipped 0.3 percent to $1,190.40 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery fell $4.60 to $1,189.70 an ounce.
Reitmans (Canada) (TSE:RET.A) rose 0.9 percent to C$6.56 as its first-quarter loss narrowed to C$0.12 per share from a loss of C$0.21 a year earlier, partly due to improved gross margins and reduced operating costs.
SNC-Lavalin Group (TSE:SNC) advanced 2.1 percent to C$46.56 as Canada's largest engineering company said it’s not for sale after the Financial Post reported that at least two rivals had approached Canada’s largest engineering and construction company to discuss a takeover.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) inched up 0.1 percent to 690.07 at 12:26 p.m. in Toronto.
In economic news, Canada, the world's 11th largest economy. Canada posted a near-record trade deficit of C$2.97 billion in April as both imports and exports fell in another sign of challenges facing the economy, Statistics Canada data showed today.
In currency, a Reuters poll found that the Canadian dollar is expected to weaken through the rest of the year based on an outlook for steady domestic interest rates against an expected U.S. rate hike, though the loonie is not likely to revisit its lows for 2015.
In the U.S. market, shares climbed today as investors assessed a series of economic reports, including a private-sector jobs report, trade-deficit data and upbeat sentiment in Europe. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) rose 0.4 percent to 2,118.94 at 11:38 a.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) rose 0.7 percent to 18,138, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) gained 0.5 percent to 4,530. Most followed shares included Synchronoss, Guess, Wendy’s, G-III Apparel, Vera Bradley, Stock Building Supply, Lumber Liquidators, Halozyme Therapeutics, Ardelyx, and Energizer Holdings.