Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — North American stock markets were relatively flat Tuesday with corporate earnings dictating the share performance of individual companies.

“Strong earnings are leading to price increases and disappointing earnings results are leading to reversals for stocks,” said Craig Jerusalim, portfolio manager at CIBC Asset Management.

“And that’s the way it should be, back to a stock-picker’s market when the actual fundamentals are dictating the share prices.”

Teck Resources Ltd. saw its share price lose 5.8% after reporting disappointing coal sales and lowering its copper outlook.

Colliers International Group Inc. was rewarded with a 12% gain after raising its guidance and posting a massive beat of expectations.

Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands International Inc. pushed the consumer discretionary sector lower as its shares dropped 3.8% after results detailing the negative impact of COVID-19 on store openings and sales.

Overall, corporate earnings in the third quarter are beating expectations, which have been broadly lower because of the pandemic and its economic impact.

Earnings growth among Canadian companies in the quarter is so far outperforming U.S. firms, said Jerusalim.

Whereas growth is down about 14% in the U.S., the cyclical makeup of the TSX and contribution from commodities, led by gold, have pushed growth up 16% year over year.

“And that’s with 12 per cent of the TSX having reported versus 40 per cent for the S&P 500,” he said in an interview.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 58.61 points to 16,020.94.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 222.19 points at 27,463.19. The S&P 500 index was down 10.29 points at 3,390.68, while the Nasdaq composite was up 72.41 points at 11,431.35.

The Canadian dollar traded for 75.96 cents US compared with 75.75 cents US on Monday.