May 5 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index edged higher on Tuesday, lifted by mining stocks and corporate earnings, but a slump in Shopify shares after a muted forecast and renewed Middle East tensions capped gains.
At 11:17 a.m. ET, the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), was up 0.2% at 33,704.69 points with nine of 11 sectors trading in green.
The heavyweight mining sector (.GSPTTMT), gained 1.2% as gold prices rose on inflationary concerns tied to the fragile Middle East truce after U.S. and Iranian forces exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz, fueling fears of further escalation.
Meanwhile, the technology sub-index (.SPTTTK), was down 2.4%, weighing on the TSX, after shares of e-commerce platform Shopify (SHOP.TO), slumped 9% following tepid forecasts for second-quarter sales and profit, signaling softer demand.
Among other stocks, Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), was up 3.6% after the company reported a double-digit first-quarter revenue rise, boosted by gains in its legal, corporates and tax, and audit and accounting segments.
Colliers (CIGI.TO), fell 3.3% after the real estate services firm missed first-quarter profit estimates.
Ero Copper (ERO.TO), rose 4.5% after the miner's first-quarter revenue beat analysts' estimates.
"Earnings have been quite strong so far, and while the conflict hasn't resolved itself, investors have really said earnings are very good and we're going to pile back into stocks," said Matthew Kempton, portfolio manager at Verecan Capital Management.
"There's still a struggle over whether the market cares more about earnings or headlines around Iran and oil."
Reporting by Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara
