The Toronto Stock Exchange was flat in early trading Thursday amid uncertain sentiment about the European sovereign-debt crisis and lower earnings from TD Bank and CIBC. Shortly after the open, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 2.51 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 13,150.86. If it finishes the day in positive territory, its four-day winning streak would mark the longest run in about three months. There is increasing speculation that the European Central Bank will take measures to contain the situation of unmanageable government debt in that region, which has so far this year meant bailouts for Greece and Ireland. No firm action on this front has been confirmed, but it did announce Thursday it was keeping its interest rates at a record-low one per cent. The ECB also said it would extend a continuing emergency-loan program to the region's commercial banks. There was some disappointment in U.S. initial jobless claims from last week that came in at a higher-than-expected 436,000, up 26,000 from the previous week. Economists anticipated 424,000. The four-week moving average, however, dropped to a two-year low. There were some major earnings on the Canadian corporate front on Thursday. Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bombardier Inc.'s profits were less than what analysts were expected, though Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce surprised to the upside. On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 14.91 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 11,270.69 minutes after the open. The Nasdaq composite index rose 5.79 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 2,555.22. Turning to commodities, crude oil was down 25 cents to $86.50 U.S. a barrel. Gold rose $2.20 to $1,390.50 U.S. an ounce. The Canadian dollar was up 75 basis points to 99.08 cents U.S.. European markets were mixed after stronger showing in the early part of their trading day. The U.K.'s FTSE index was up 29.81 points, or 0.53 per cent, to 5,672.31 as North American markets were opening. The CAC in France was off 6.69 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 3,662.60. The German DAX was up 6.25 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 6,872.88. Asian markets gained. Japan's Nikkei index was up 180.47 points, or 1.81 per cent, to 10,168.52. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 198.98 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 2,3448.78. The Shanghai composite in mainland China was up 20.16 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 2,843.61. On Wednesday, the TSX gained 195.47 points, or 1.51 per cent, to 13,148.35. The Dow Jones was up 249.76 points, or 2.27 per cent, to 11,255.78, and the Nasdaq was up 51.2 points, or 2.05 per cent, to 2,549.43.

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