Toronto Stocks Flat as Investors Look to Heightened Middle East Tensions

By Robb M. Stewart

Shares on Canada's main exchange were little changed Tuesday as tensions in the Middle East heighten.

In midday trading, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX Composite Index was 3.61 points lower at 23996.76, with technology stocks leading losers for the session, but energy and mining companies were marking gains.

The blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 was 1.05 points lower at 1437.77.

Constellation Software was among the biggest drags on the market, falling 1.1% to C$4,351.81 after analysts at Royal Bank of Canada cautioned the company's revenue growth in fiscal 2025 could be held back by a lack of recent acquisition activity.

News that Iran may be preparing to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel sparked a rally in gold and oil prices, buoying resources stocks. Barrick Gold was ahead 1.5% at C$27.30, Athabasca Oil was up 3.1% at C$4.95 and Canadian Natural Resources was 3.4% higher at C$46.45

Other market movers:

MEG Energy was 3.8% higher at C$26.38 after it hit its $600 million debt-reduction target, freeing the energy company to push ahead with plans to return 100% of its free cash flow to shareholders with a quarterly base dividend and an expanded share-buyback program.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 01, 2024 12:28 ET (16:28 GMT)

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