The Toronto stock market closed little changed Thursday following three days of advances as economic growth data from China met expectations and traders looked to a two-day summit of European Union leaders.
Traders also took in news after the close of a major setback for BCE Inc.
The federal broadcast regulator has unconditionally rejected the telecom's $3.4billion takeover of Astral Media, saying the controversial deal would have placed too much power in the hands of one company and threatened the competitive media landscape in Canada. The announcement came out after the close. BCE shares had closed up 15¢ to $43.63 while Astral shares had declined $1.44 to $47.
The S&P/TSX composite index edged up 4.87 points to 12,466.12 after netting more than 250 points since Friday. The TSX Venture Exchange added 8.34 points to 1,312.34. The Canadian dollar came off Wednesday's surge of almost 1¢, down 0.72¢ at US101.53¢.
Google Inc. was also in focus, with its stock plunging 8% after its third-quarter earnings report was mistakenly released early. Google said it earned US$2.18 billion, or US$6.53 per share, during the three months ending in September. That compared with net income of US$2.73 billion, or US$8.33 per share, last year.
Excluding one-time items, earnings would have been US$9.03 per share, missing expectations of US$10.63 a share. Google shares were halted mid-afternoon to give traders a chance to digest the numbers and resumed trading about half an hour before the close.
New York markets were weak amid mixed economic data and poorly received earnings reports from investment bank Morgan Stanley and mobile phone maker Nokia. The Dow Jones industrials slipped 8.06 points to 13,548.94 as applications for U.S. unemployment benefits jumped 46,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 388,000, the highest in four months. The four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, fell slightly to 365,500, a level consistent with modest hiring.
The slide in Google shares helped push the Nasdaq composite index down 31.25 points at 3,072.87 while the S&P 500 index was off 3.57 points to 1,457.34.
In other economic news, the U.S. Conference Board said its index of leading indicators, pointing to future economic trends, rose 0.6% in September after falling 0.4% in August and rising 0.4% in July. The strength in September came from a big jump in applications for building permits, which the government reported Wednesday had climbed to a four-year high that month.
