Canada’s biggest insurance companies are keeping Bay Street boosted.
Manulife and Sunlife Financial both reported strong earnings in their latest quarters. This is pushing the TSX up 99 points to 16,414. However, Sunlife shares have since slipped.
Tension with Saudi Arabia is still expected to cause some weight on Bay Street as the country pulls investment from all of its Canadian assets.
Across the border, the Dow is weighted by reported losses from big US lenders, with the Wall Street index only up 10 points to 25,594.
Oil prices are slightly gaining after dropping far on concerns over Chinese tariffs on US oil products.
The price of US crude is up to 66.97 a barrel.
