Stocks continued to hover near their starting positions on Monday at midday, despite agreement among the Group of 20 nations that deficits need to be cut in half by 2013.
At noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 43 points or 0.4 per cent, to 10,186. The broader S&P 500 was up 4 points or 0.4 per cent, to 1081.
Commodity producers were among the main laggards, with energy stocks and materials stocks down 0.4 per cent each. Financials also slipped 0.4 per cent.
Defensive stocks enjoyed some of the biggest gains, with telecom services and consumer staples up 1.5 per cent each. Technology stocks were also relatively strong, rising 0.8 per cent.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 43 points or 0.4 per cent, to 11,665.
Commodity stocks were weak. Energy stocks fell 0.7 per cent and materials fell 0.5 per cent. Financials fell 0.2 per cent.
Information technology stocks enjoyed the biggest gains, rising 0.9 per cent after Research In Motion Ltd. rebounded slightly after a sharp selloff on Friday, which followed a disappointing report on the BlackBerry maker's quarterly sales.