TORONTO - The Toronto Stock Exchange moved back from earlier gains to close negative as traders weighed the impact of mixed North American corporate earnings and weak consumer data.
The TSX/S&P composite index lost 8.85 points to 11,980.1 as investor concerns about the European debt crisis extended into another session.
The June crude oil contract added 44 cents to US$103.55 a barrel. Gold prices ran ahead $11.20 to US$1,643.80 an ounce and copper prices bounced five cents higher to US$3.67 a pound.
The Canadian dollar rose 0.30 of a cent to 101.21 cents US even as traders took in data showing weaker than expected February retail sales and declining consumer confidence.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial index was up 74.39 points to 13,001.56, the Nasdaq index dropped 8.85 points to 2,961.6 and the broader S&P rose 5.03 points to 1,371.97.
Statistics Canada reports that overall retail sales slipped 0.2 per cent to $38.9 billion in February, while, the Conference Board of Canada says its consumer confidence index fell 4.5 percentage points.
