Canadian and U.S. stocks paired gains at noon but remained in positive territory as investors reacted to jobs data and earnings.

In Canada, news that the economy shrank 0.4 per cent in the second quarter appeared to be drowned out by better-than-expected quarterly results from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. The stock rose 4 per cent after the bank said it was raising its dividend.

Bombardier shares rose in early trading after the company beat second-quarter expectations, but they had reversed direction by noon, down almost 8 per cent.

The S&P/TSX rose by 81.97 points to 12,716.68. All sectors were in the green, led by consumer discretionary stocks, up 1.2 per cent.

In the U.S., economic data showed rising business activity, lending some hope that the economy would avoid another contraction. The sentiment sent shares of Ford Motor Co., Caterpillar Inc. and Alcoa Inc. up almost 3 per cent.

AT&T Inc. fell 5 per cent after the U.S. Department of Justice sued to prevent the telecom’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA Inc., citing concerns about competition.

The price of gold climbed $10.20 (U.S.) to $1,840 an ounce. Oil prices were flat while the loonie was up a fraction at 102.3 cents.