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RBC Capital Markets says a weaker trading environment will impact the Canadian banks in their upcoming second-quarter results. As Paul Bagnell reports, RBC is calling for a 3-percent drop in earnings per share.

Industrial and mining stocks gave a modest lift to the Toronto stock market late morning Tuesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index was ahead 47.96 points to 14,562.70.

The Canadian dollar dropped 0.39 of a cent to 91.71 cents (U.S.).

Retail disappointments kept U.S. indexes in the red with the Dow Jones industrials down 33.13 points to 16,478.73, the Nasdaq declined 12.48 points to 4,113.33 and the S&P 500 index was down 3.22 points to 1,881.86.

There was also a major executive shakeup at retailer Target.

The company has fired the president of its troubled Canadian operations, Tony Fisher, and is replacing him with 15-year U.S. company veteran Mark Schindele, who was senior vice president of merchandising operations. Target is trying to fix its operations in Canada, its first expansion outside the U.S., which have been hit with cost overruns and losses. It is also trying to recover from a massive data breach in the U.S. that has cost it customers' trust. Target shares were down 1.65 cents to $57.33 (U.S.).

Home Depot's fiscal first-quarter net income climbed 12 per cent to $1.38-billion, or $1 per share. However, earnings ex-items amounted to 96 cents per share, three cents short of estimates. Revenue for the Atlanta company rose three per cent to $19.69-billion, but missed estimates of $19.97-billion. The No. 1 home improvement retailer in the U.S. also raised its full-year earnings forecast and its shares gained $2.08 to $78.58.

Office-supplies company Staples posted an adjusted first-quarter profit of 18 cents a share, three cents below expectations. The company also expects to post charges of $105-million to $155-million, related to continuing restructuring during its second quarter and its shares retreated 11.3 per cent to $11.86.

Other retailers pressuring New York included Dick's Sporting Goods, which skidded 16 per cent after the firm lowered expectations for the second quarter and full year due to weakness in the retailer's golf and hunting divisions.

And Urban Outfitters fell almost seven per cent as the firm said profit dropped 20 per cent in the first quarter.

The quarterly earnings season in Canada has pretty much wound up and now traders are waiting for results from the big Canadian banks this week and next.

Royal Bank and TD Bank kick off the stream of earnings on Thursday and analysts are expecting another solid if unspectacular quarter.

Analysts don't believe the earnings will yield another leg up in stock prices for the big banks, all of which are very close to their 52-week highs. At the same time, the financial sector has been one of the weakest performers this year despite strong profits and is up just 1.7 per cent year to date.

The industrials sector led TSX gainers, up 0.8 per cent.

On the commodity markets, the base metals sector rose 0.4 per cent with July copper off three cents to $3.14 a pound.

June bullion edged up 40 cents to $1,294.20 an ounce and the gold sector gained 0.13 per cent.

The energy sector rose 0.35 per cent, while June crude contract in New York lost early gains and declined 22 cents to $102.39 a barrel.

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