Bay Street got a boost Wednesday morning from gold bugs, while U.S. markets drifted as investors digested more profit warnings.

At midday, the S&P/TSX composite was up 7.06 points or 0.08% to 8491.8 after a slow start, while the the TSX Venture Exchange was up 7.06 points as well or 0.45% to 1568.96.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 2.72 or 0.03% to 10216.62. The S&P 500 was up about a point to 1117.19, while the Nasdaq had gained 3.52 points or 0.18% to 1966.95.

American dollar weakness sent the Canadian dollar higher, up 0.4 of a cent to US75.75¢. The C$’s ascent came even as Statistics Canada reported the value of building permits in May was the lowest in nine months. The value of building permits retreated 9.5% to $4.1 billion as construction intentions declined in both residential and non-residential sectors.

After being held back by the energy sector, Bay Street got a boost from the news that the planned merger between Iamgold Corp. and Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. had been killed by shareholders on Tuesday. But Iamgold shareholders said they were still considering an offer from Golden Star Resources Ltd., a Canadian firm with operational headquarters in Denver and assets in west Africa.

Gold stocks as a group were up by 2.9%, with Iamgold adding 75¢ to trade at $8.30 on the Toronto stock market as more than eight million shares traded hands. Wheaton River was down 2¢ to $3.73 as almost nine million shares shifted.

Meanwhile, the materials sector was up by 1.18%, partly because of a US$7.70 hike in the price of gold to US$400.10 an ounce.

In U.S. markets, investors have been “spooked” by the spate of profit warnings in the software and semiconductor sectors in the last two days, said one equity strategist. “The market is nervous about second half earnings growth in light of the moderating economic numbers we’ve been seeing.”

Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues closed down 90.41 points, or 0.79% at 11,384.86.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 36.18 points, or 0.29% to 12,320.26.

London’s FTSE 100 index and the Frankfurt DAX 30 were flat while the Paris CAC 40 was ahead a slight 0.2%.