Canada’s main stock index down

U.S. stock markets were relatively flat on Thursday

Canada’s main stock index fell, while U.S. counterparts stayed relatively flat today as investors awaited news from an OPEC meeting, as well as economic data due out tomorrow.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell by 42.42 points to 16,854.92.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 28.01 points to 27,677.79. The S&P 500 index advanced 4.67 points to 3,117.43, while the Nasdaq composite rose 4.03 points to 8,570.70.

The Canadian dollar traded at US75.91¢, compared with an average of US75.63¢ on Wednesday.

The January crude oil contract remained unchanged at US$58.43 per barrel and the January natural gas contract advanced US2.8¢ to roughly US$2.43 mmBTU.

The February gold contract rose US$2.90 to US$1,483.10 an ounce and the March copper contract inched forward 0.4 of a cent to US$2.663 a pound.