Canadian shares advanced, reversing earlier losses after OPEC’s decided to maintain its oil output target, offsetting worries that the U.S. Federal Reserve might raise interest rates sooner than the market had expected.
The benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) fell 0.2 percent to 14,983.23 at 12:28 p.m. in Toronto. Three shares declined for every two issued that advanced as six out of ten share groups were in the negative territory.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, fell 0.8 percent as gold pirces dropped.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, slumped 2.7 percent to C$21.42. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), the second-largest, lost 2.2 percent to C$14.31.
Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $1,174.96 an ounce, within reach of a five-week low of $1,172.55 hit in the previous session. The metal was heading for a 1 percent fall on the week.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, rose 0.6 percent even as oil prices fell in morning trades.
Cenovus Energy (TSE:CVE), Canada's second-largest independent oil producer, rose 1.9 percent to $20.64 after saying it would buy a railroad-loading terminal from Canexus for C$75 million, a move designed to cope with limited pipeline capacity in Western Canada.
Major Drilling Group International (TSE:MDI) gained 5.1 percent to C$6.78 after saying its fourth-quarter loss narrowed to 16 Canadian cents a share from C$0.31. Year-earlier results included a large restructuring charge. Revenue fell 2 percent, it said.
Delphi Energy (TSE:DEE) jumped 7.8 percent to C$1.38 after saying it has agreed to sell working interests in producing properties, facilities and infrastructure and undeveloped land in the greater Wapiti area of Alberta for C$50 million.
Calfrac Well Services (TSE: CFW), which provides drilling services for oil and natural-gas producers, slid 3.8 percent to C$8.27. Moody’s downgraded the company’s corporate rating to B2 from Ba3.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, gained 0.3 percent t C$36.22. Enbridge (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, skidded 0.8 percent to C$58.70.
Western Canada Select, a Canadian oilsands contract, fell 30 cents to $49.54 US a barrel. The spread between WTI and WCS shrank to as little as $7 earlier this week, the lowest since 2009. Brent crude, the international contract, fell 9 cents to $61.94 US a barrel, after trading at $64 earlier this week.
Oil eased today after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed at its meeting in Vienna to leave output unchanged for the next six months.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, rose 0.2 percent. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, surrendered 0.4 percent to C$79.65. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, skidded 0.3 percent to C$54.28.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (CVE:OSPVX) rose 0.5 percent to 687.44 at 12:03 p.m. in Toronto.
In economic news, Canada added six times as many jobs in May as economists predicted, with the job market proving robust even as the economy recovers from the effects of plunging crude-oil prices.
In currency, the Canadian dollar gained against most major peers after the country added six times as many jobs in May as forecast, bolstering Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz’s view that the economy will rebound from oil’s collapse. The loonie rose 0.3 percent to C$1.2477. One loonie buys 80.15 U.S. cents.
In the U.S. market, shares sagged but were off initial lows after the U.S. reported strong jobs growth in May. The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) slid 0.1 percent to 2,094, the 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) lost 0.2 percent to 17,874, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) was up 0.1 percent at 5,061. Most followed shares included Vodafone, Liberty Global, Gap, LightInTheBox, Fiat, Under Armour, Zumiez, Noodles, Verifone Systems, AES, and Diamond Foods.