The Toronto Stock Exchange closed out Wednesday's session with a modest gain after hovering above and below the flat line most of the day.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 9.56 points, or 0.08%, to 11,807.50. There was weakness in the financials sector though materials gained.
Trading volume was relatively light ahead of the G20 summit taking place this weekend in Toronto, the country's main financial centre, where many traders were absent amid tight security in the downtown core.
"A lot of people are not in, or if they're in, they're not very active," Irwin Michael, a money manager at ABC Group of Funds in Toronto, told Bloomberg. "We expect the market to be extra volatile. What may be up in the morning may be down in the afternoon."
One stock that had a good run for the day was BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd., which was up 2.61% to $62.01. It is scheduled to report earnings on Thursday.
There was some disappointing economic data reported in Canada and the United States on Wednesday.
Statistics Canada said retail sales in the country were down two per cent in April, a bigger drop than the 0.4% decline economists expected.
In the U.S., it was reported that sales of new homes were down 33% to an annual rate of 300,000 last month, the lowest level since records started being kept in 1963. Economists anticipated 410,000.
"It's evident with these weaker numbers that people are a little bit more concerned about the growth outlook," said Gavin Graham, global strategist at Toronto-area-based Excel Funds Management Inc., told Reuters.
On the commodities market, crude oil was down $0.86 to US$76.35 a barrel in New York, while gold fell $5.80 to US$1,234.10 an ounce.
Despite the lower gold price, miners of this metal saw their stock rise in Toronto on Wednesday. Goldcorp Inc. was up 2.79% to $46.41, while Barrick Gold Corp. was ahead 0.96% to $46.46.
The Canadian dollar was down 87 basis points to US96.30¢.
The junior TSX Venture composite index declined 2.05 points, or 0.14%, to 1,455.89
U.S. markets also fluctuated throughout the day. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 4.92 points or 0.05%, to 10,298.44. The Nasdaq composite index was down 7.57 points, or 0.33%, to 2,254.23.
The main overseas markets were down, except for a small 0.18% gain on Hong Kong's Hang Seng index.
