TORONTO - The Toronto stock market closed little changed Wednesday as early gains in commodity stocks deteriorated while bullion prices continued to set record highs.

The S&P/TSX closed up 13.01 points at 11,439.75, falling sharply from a 133-point jump in the morning as the U.S. dollar pulled away from a 15-month low, which in turn depressed oil and metal prices.

Analysts said the direction of the U.S. dollar likely will continue to dictate trading.

"I don't see anything that's changing out there that's going to stop our dollar from getting weaker," said Ralph Fogel, co-chief investment officer at Fogel Neale Partners in New York.

But investors were encouraged by data showing that the slump in China's exports eased last month amid rising industrial output and retail sales.

The monthly figures provide the latest evidence that China's economy will meet or surpass the Beijing government's goal of eight per cent economic growth for the full year.

"What's really important is the nature of the Chinese growth," said Eric Brass, equity analyst at MFC Global Investment Management.

"The growth has changed, with a greater focus on domestically oriented sectors rather than exports. And this translates into a real positive for the Canadian markets as it shows continued insatiable demand for commodities, for raw materials."

Also, Japanese machinery orders rose by 10.5 per cent in September.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the Canadian dollar was ahead 0.4 of a cent to 95.63 cents in international trading. There was no official close from the Bank of Canada as the central bank and Canadian banks were closed for the Remembrance Day holiday.

The gold sector was up 0.21 per cent as the December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed up $12.10 to US$1,114.60 an ounce. Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) advanced 19 cents to C$20.50.

The tech sector also supported the TSX as Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) climbed 98 cents to $67.78.

The financial sector was ahead 0.32 per cent with Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) climbing 52 cents to $47.82.

The energy sector lost early strong gains to move down 0.37 per cent as the December crude contract on the Nymex gained 23 cents to US$79.28 a barrel after earlier crossing the US$80 mark. Sector heavyweight EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA) declined 80 cents to $60.70.

The slight rise in oil came amid a warning from OPEC that demand for oil will slip in industrialized countries next year if prices climb and are sustained above their current level.

The base metals sector turned flat as December copper moved up 0.45 of a cent to US$2.97 a pound. Inmet Mining (TSX:IMN) gained 95 cents to $64 while HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) moved down 16 cents to $16.50.

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 8.81 points to 1,353.94.

New York markets were positive as investors keep rallying around the expectation that interest rates will remain low for some time, but the indexes were also well off early highs.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 44.29 points to 10,291.26.

The Nasdaq composite index was up 15.82 points to 2,166.9 and the S&P 500 climbed 5.5 points to 1,098.51.

Stocks around the world have enjoyed a strong first half to the week after finance ministers from the Group of 20 rich and developing countries indicated that borrowing costs would remain low for a while yet.

As a result, the Dow Jones industrial average has struck new highs for 2009 while the TSX is about 145 points short of its high for the year.

Investor focus is shifting to American retailers this week since without the help of the consumer, who accounts for around for 70 per cent of the U.S. economy, any global economic recovery will be modest.

There was disappointment with the first of a batch that will include earnings results from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., and JC Penney Inc.

Macy's Inc. on Wednesday reported that it lost US$35 million, or a bigger-than-expected eight cents per share, in the latest quarter, compared with $44 million, or 10 cents per share, in last year's quarter. Revenue fell almost four per cent to $5.28 billion and its shares fell $1.57 to $17.86.

In other earnings news, Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC) reported net income of $171 million or 79 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from a year-ago profit of $160 million or 74 cents per share. Quarterly revenues totalled $3 billion, up from $2.8 billion last year. Still, its shares moved 69 cents lower to $43.79 as earnings misses estimates.

Flight training firm CAE Inc. (TSX:CAE) reported quarterly net income of $39.1 million or 15 cents per share, down from a year-ago net profit of $49 million or 19 cents per share. Quarterly revenues came in at 364.5 million, down from $406.7 million last year and its shares were down 25 cents at $8.75.

Canadian investors also took in acquisition activity in the waste management business.

Toronto's IESI-BFC Ltd. (TSX:BIN) and Burlington, Ont.-based Waste Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSII) have agreed to merge and form what the companies say will be North America's third-largest solid waste management company. The acquisition by IESI-BFC values Waste Services at $8.14 per share, based on Tuesday closing stock prices, or about $388.1 million.

Waste Services shares climbed 41 cents to US$7.65 in New York while IESI-BFC shares gained 34 cents to $14.30.

Gabriel Resources Ltd. (TSX:GBU) says it has entered into a private placement deal to sell 30 million share-and-warrant units to BSG Capital Markets PCC Ltd., which is part of the Beny Steinmetz Group, a global resources investment company. Shares in the Toronto miner, which is developing a gold project in Romania, surged 64 cents or 24.33 per cent to $3.27.