By Adriano Marchese


Stocks in Toronto were firmly lower in midday trading Tuesday, climbing from deeper lows earlier in the morning. Canada posted a goods-trade surplus for September of 2.04 billion Canadian dollars ($1.49 billion), according to Statistics Canada, due to a boost from shipments of crude oil. The consensus had forecast pegged the surplus at C$950 million.

In the session, most sectors were trending downward, with energy and materials the main laggards. Tech services, consumer durables were the primary gainers.

At midday, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 0.55% lower at 19636.07 and the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 fell by 0.45% to 1181.57.

TransAlta shares were 3.6% higher at C$11.03 after reporting a jump in profit and revenue in the third quarter, benefiting from a strong performance in its Alberta portfolio and lower commodity prices.


Other market movers:

Shares of Finning International were 8.2% lower at C$34.36 despite posting better-than-expected results for a number of metrics in its third quarter late Monday, due to strong performances in Canada and South America.

Shares of Canadian pet retailer Pet Valu Holdings rose by 4.6% to C$26.45 after it said that it expects revenue and earnings to grow in 2023.

I-80 Gold shares were 3.8% higher at C$1.90 after it said it entered into a preliminary agreement to potentially form a joint venture to develop its gold property in Nevada.


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


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-07-23 1217ET