By Georgia Wells, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Toronto’s main stock index hovered around the flat line Friday to close up 2 points after the U.S. reported strong retail data for July, and gold settled lower following a week of gains. “The decent retail-sales report in the U.S. this morning helps out the U.S. and Canada as well,” said Royal Bank of Canada economist Nathan Janzen. “It tends to be the stuff that is driving the U.S. market will also move the Canadian market.” Read more about U.S. retail gains. The United States accounts for approximately 75% of overall Canadian exports. “Gold is down slightly, which is why we aren’t doing as well, but we never came down as far as the U.S. market, so our trend is still up,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier. “Gold has had a big run, so many investors are making a profit [Friday],” he added. Read more about gold’s moves. The S&P/TSX Composite Index CA:$ISPTX +2.81% added 0.02%, or 2 points, rising to 12,542.20. The S&P/TSX Capped Diversified Metals and Mining Index XX:TTMN +1.44% led the benchmark, climbing 1.4%, while shares of Teck Resources CA:TCK.B +3.09% put on 0.1%. Copper futures HG1U -0.14% put on 0.4% to settle at $85.38 a pound. The S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index XX:TTEN +4.45% gained 0.3% as shares of Talisman Energy CA:TLM +1.56% rose 0.3%. The S&P/TSX Capped Materials Index XX:TTMT -0.64% lost 0.6% as gold futures GC1Z -0.14% fell 0.5%, or $8.90, to settle at $1,742.60 an ounce. Most gold producers declined, with Eldorado Gold Corp. CA:ELD -1.66% losing 1.7%. In currencies, the Canadian dollar weakened, with the U.S. dollar USDCAD -0.0239% up 0.1% to buy 98.74 Canadian cents. Read about more about foreign exchange. Georgia Wells is a MarketWatch reporter, based in San Francisco.

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