By Adriano Marchese


Toronto-listed stocks were slightly higher in midday trading Wednesday as Canadian banks continued their latest-quarter earnings, with National Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Canada reporting growth but receiving different attention from investors.

Sector performance was mixed. Energy was the largest decliner of the session, followed more distantly by commercial services and process industries. These offset gains primarily in consumer durables and tech services.

A thorny subject in Canada, labor productivity for Canadian businesses continued its downward trajectory with a 0.4% decline, dropping for a ninth quarter of the last ten in the latest three-month period.

Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 0.1%, to 25663.95, and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 edged forward 0.1%, to 1539.00.

Dollarama shares fell 5.8% to 139.62 Canadian dollars (US$99.22) after it said it has plans to expand its logistics operations in western Canada as it looks to support a larger network of stores. The project is expected to cost C$450 million over three years on top of the C$46.7 million to buy the land just outside of Calgary, Alberta.


Other market movers:

National Bank of Canada lifted its payout to shareholders after earnings in the final quarter of the fiscal year rose, thanks in part to growth in personal and commercial loans. Shares fell 3%, to C$136.60, and analysts suggest that it is due to a miss by the personal- and commercial-banking division offsetting beats in financial markets and another segment that includes mainly treasury activities.

Royal Bank of Canada posted an increase in fourth-quarter earnings thanks to strength in personal banking and its commercial-banking and wealth-management operations. Shares rose 0.8%, to C$177.27.

Tamarack Valley Energy set its production guidance for 2025 higher than analysts expected for the period. The guidance also came with a new budget and capital-returns targets for the year. Shares rose 1.5%, to C$4.55.

NexGen Energy shares rose 1.8%, to C$11.65, after it said it secured its first uranium-supply contracts with a number of nuclear-utility companies in the U.S.


Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-04-24 1225ET