Gold bars are stacked in the safe deposit boxes room of the Pro Aurum gold house in Munich March 3, 2014.MICHAEL DALDER/Reuters
The Toronto market was little changed late morning Monday as a fresh slide in gold stocks offset the positive impact from Chinese trade data.
The S&P/TSX composite index was 4.46 points lower at 14,686.37, eliminating a 77-point advance early in the Monday session.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.06 of a cent to 88.3 cents (U.S.).
New York's Dow industrials rose 19.31 points to 17,593.24, the S&P 500 added 4.56 points to 2,036.48 while the Nasdaq climbed 16.06 points to 4,648.59.
Data released overnight showed that China's export growth slowed to 11.6 per cent in October from a year earlier, beating analysts' expectations of a 10 per cent rise.
Imports rose 4.6 per cent from a year earlier, slightly below forecasts calling for a five per cent gain.
The trade surplus of the world's second-biggest economy also beat expectations as it widened in October to $45.4-billion from $30.9-billion in September, higher than the forecast calling for a $42.3-billion surplus.
Analysts said the positive reaction to the data indicated that markets were finally getting comfortable with Chinese growth not returning to the double-digit runups that were a feature of the country's economy for many years.
"We're starting to become more realistic in that we now don't overreact if the data comes in at or marginally below", said Kash Pashootan, portfolio manager at First Avenue Advisory in Ottawa, a Raymond James compamy.
The gold sector continued to be a major weight on the TSX, down another 3.6 per cent with December bullion down $6.40 to $1,163.40 an ounce. The sector has fallen about 15 per cent in the last month as the U.S. Federal Reserve concluded its massive bond-buying program, or quantitative easing, while inflationary pressures in most countries remain tame.
Lower bullion prices are forcing mining companies to reduce costs and driving down gold stocks.
"Gold goes in cycles and we've had a 12-year cycle where gold has done well," added Pashootan.
"And that ended a couple of years back and we could easily have a 10-to-12 year cycle where gold does nothing."
Energy stocks also turned negative as oil prices declined in the face of a stronger U.S. currency.
The December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 30 cents to $78.35 (U.S.) a barrel and the TSX energy sector moved down 0.35 per cent.
Ensign Energy Services Inc. stock rose seven cents to $13.43 (Canadian) as it said its third-quarter net income was down 21 per cent from a year ago, to $26.5-million or 17 cents a share as the Calgary-based drilling company felt the effect of currency fluctuations. Adjusted income was up three per cent to $36.1-million and revenue was up seven per cent to $583.3-million.
The base metals group also moved into the negative column, down 0.6 per cent while December copper edged a cent lower to $3.03 a pound.
Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. had a smaller third-quarter loss as its Oy Tolgoi mine in Mongolia reduced expenses, ramped up production and reduce copper concentrate inventories by selling more than it produced. Its net loss was $38.6-million (U.S.) or two cents per share, down from $94-million or nine cents per share. Its shares edged up 12 cents to $3.72.
The TSX found support from the consumer staples sector with Loblaw Cos. ahead two per cent to $58.36 ahead of earnings from the grocer later in the week.
Financials and techs also lent support.