North American stock market indexes rose slightly on Tuesday morning, with a better-than-expected reading on U.S. house prices lending some support and a new iPhone creating big moves among telecommunications stocks.
At the start of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 15 points or 0.1 per cent, to 10,911. The broader S&P 500 rose 1 point or 0.1 per cent, to 1175.
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The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose about 0.3 per cent in January over the previous month, beating expectations for a dip in prices.
Meanwhile, reports that Apple Inc. will release a new iPhone that can be used by rival carriers to AT&T Inc. created some volatility in the telecommunications and information technology sectors. AT&T shares fell 0.7 per cent, but rival Verizon Communications Inc. rose 2.5 per cent. As well, Research In Motion Ltd. - whose BlackBerry will presumably face stiffer competition from the iPhone - fell 2.9 per cent. As for Apple, the shares rose 1.9 per cent
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index rose 15 points or 0.1 per cent, to 12,044.
Financials showed some stability, a day after some shares fell over concerns that borrowing costs are on the rise. Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.3 per cent and Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.5 per cent.
Commodity producers moved in different directions, even though the price of crude oil and gold were relatively unchanged. Energy stocks also moved higher, with Suncor Energy Inc. up 0.4 per cent and Canadian Oil Sands trust up 0.6 per cent.
Gold producers were weak, though. Goldcorp Inc. fell 0.9 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. fell 0.8 per cent.
David Berman