Business

The Toronto stock market was 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.

The S&P/TSX composite index edged up 1.53 points to 12,462.78 after netting more than 250 points since Friday. The TSX Venture Exchange added 4.14 points to 1,308.14.

The Canadian dollar was off 0.44 of a cent at 101.81 cents US after the commodity-sensitive currency charged ahead almost a full U.S. cent on Wednesday amid rising copper prices.

New York markets were weak as traders took in mixed economic data along with earnings reports from investment bank Morgan Stanley and mobile phone maker Nokia.

The Dow Jones industrials was up 3.13 points to 13,560.13 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 Nasdaq composite index was 11.74 points lower at 3,092.38 while the S&P 500 index was off 1.25 points to 1,459.66.

In other economic news, the U.S. Conference Board says its index of leading indicators, pointing to future economic trends, rose 0.6 per cent in September after falling 0.4 per cent in August and rising 0.4 per cent 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.

And the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said its index of regional manufacturing activity had a reading of 5.7 in October following a minus 1.9 reading in September, a positive sign for a U.S. manufacturing sector which has been weakening for much of the year. Any reading above zero indicates expansion.