The Toronto Stock Exchange was close to flat at midday on Tuesday after fluctuating between positive and negative territory in the trading session until then. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 5.49 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 12,658.09. Energy and financials slipped, though the materials sector saw gains. Rogers Communications Inc. plunged 6.58 per cent to $38.59 after it reported third-quarter revenue that missed analysts expectations. Research In Motion Ltd. was up 4.84 per cent to $55.45, one day after co-chief executive Mike Lazaridis demonstrated RIM's new PlayBook tablet computer at a conference in Los Angeles. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil was up three cents to $82.55 U.S. a barrel after earlier declines. Gold was down $3.60 to $1,335.30 U.S. an ounce. The Canadian dollar fell 19 basis points to 97.82 cents U.S.. In the U.S., Ford Motor Co. blew past expectations with its third-quarter results, though the S&P/Case-Shiller index of U.S. home prices in major U.S. cities showed slower year-over-year gains for August than expected. A separate report from Federal Housing Finance Agency showed outright price declines for the country overall. On the other hand, the U.S. Conference Board reported higher-than-expected consumer confidence for this month. On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 5.6 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 11,158.45 at midday. The Nasdaq composite index rose 4.81 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 2,495.66. European and Asian markets were down following a surprise investment loss reported by Swiss banking giant UBS AG, and an elevated state of the Japanese yen versus the U.S. dollar had some investors fearing Japanese exports would take a hit.

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