The most influential weights included some of the index's biggest banks, with Royal Bank of Canada (>> Royal Bank of Canada) down 0.7 percent to C$93.66 and Toronto-Dominion Bank (>> Toronto-Dominion Bank) off 0.6 percent to C$66.575.

Canada's housing agency said on Tuesday it will increase its homeowner mortgage loan insurance premiums in a move that makes it marginally more expensive for borrowers to buy a home but should not materially affect the housing market.

Home Capital Group Inc (>> Home Capital Group Inc), whose Home Trust unit is more exposed to housing than the banks, fell 1.6 percent to C$30.01, while the financials group slipped 0.5 percent overall.

Commodity prices were boosted by a fall in the U.S. dollar in which they are priced after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said that the strong greenback was hurting U.S. competitiveness.

The energy group climbed 0.8 percent on the back of the oil price gain, with Suncor Energy Inc (>> Suncor Energy Inc.) up 1 percent to C$43.23 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (>> Canadian Natural Resources Limited) advancing 1.1 percent to C$41.64.

Goldcorp Inc (>> Goldcorp Inc.) rose 1.2 percent to C$19.37 and Kinross Gold Corp (>> Kinross Gold Corporation) gained 3.1 percent to C$4.61 as gold jumped to its highest in nearly eight weeks on Trump's comments.

At 10:20 a.m. ET (1520 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> was down 5.85 points, or 0.04 percent, at 15,473.44, with advancers barely outnumbering decliners overall and six of the 10 sectors moving higher.

Canadian National Railway fell 1.2 percent to C$92.24, while rival Canadian Pacific Railway declined 1.3 percent to C$192.19, pushing industrials down 0.8 percent.

U.S. crude prices were up 1.3 percent to $53.04 a barrel, while Brent added 1.0 percent to $56.44.

Gold futures rose 1.5 percent to $1,212.8 an ounce.

Lending activity to small businesses in Canada picked up in November on gains in the manufacturing and retail sectors, a report showed on Tuesday, suggesting companies felt more confident with the U.S. election out of the way.

(Reporting by Alastair Sharp)