Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market was positioned to move modestly higher Thursday morning as two big Canadian banks reported mixed earnings and commodities prices were flat.

But the S&P/TSX composite index could spend much of the day struggling to gain further ground after closing at a post-recession high on Wednesday.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.74 cents to 99.07 cents US as the U.S. dollar weakened against the euro and other major currencies. The greenback was lower following a report which said the U.S. would support more aid for Europe through the International Monetary Fund.

The January crude contract lost eight cents at US$86.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The new February gold contract gained 90 cents to US$1,389.20 while the March copper contract on the Nymex was unchanged at US$3.96.

U.S. markets were also poised to follow through on big gains made Thursday. The Dow futures were up 42 points at 11,275 and Nasdaq futures gained 14.25 to 2,172.75. The S&P 500 futures were up 5.4 points to 1209.9.

On the TSX, investors will take in some disappointing earnings from major Canadian companies.

The financial sector could lose some ground after two of the big six Canadian banks said profits fell from a year ago, and neither one of them followed National Bank (TSX:NA) in raising their dividend.

TD Bank (TSX:TD) says its profits slipped to $994 million in the fourth quarter, falling short of expectations, as revenues strengthened. The results were equivalent to $1.07 per diluted share and compare to a net income of $1.01 billion million in the same period a year ago, or $1.12 a share.

CIBC’s (TSX:CM) fourth-quarter profits slipped to $500 million, or $1.19 per share, a decline from $644 million or $1.56 a share in the same period ended Oct. 31 last year. However, the bank’s adjusted earnings per share of $1.68 per share came in above analyst expectations of $1.64.

Elsewhere on the market, Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.A) says it logged net income of $143 million in its third quarter, down from the $168 million in the same period a year ago.

Grain handler and farm supply company Viterra Inc. (TSX:VT) announced late Wednesday it is initiating a semi-annual cash dividend of five cents per share.

On Wednesday, the S&P/TSX composite index added 195.47 points to close at 13,148.35 with all of the main indexes in positive territory. That’s nearly 100 points higher than the previously set post-recession high of 13,052.48 reached on Nov. 8. Prior to that, the TSX hadn’t closed above 13,000 since September 2008.

The main boost to investor sentiment the day before had come from upbeat jobs data out of the U.S. ADP Employer Services, a payroll company, said small businesses added the largest amount of workers in three years last month, well ahead of what analysts had forecast.

Improved economic growth in the U.S., the world’s No. 1 economy, would be a boon for countries like Canada that heavily depend on exporting to the U.S.

The Institute of Supply Management also said its index of manufacturing activity rose in November for the 16th month. The Federal Reserve then said the U.S. economy improved in 10 of the Fed’s 12 regions.

World markets moved higher Thursday after the European Central Bank says it is keeping its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record low of 1% for the 19th straight month. The decision Thursday was widely anticipated as European economies are still recovering from the economic downturn and the debt crisis threatens to destabilize weaker nations.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 0.9%, while Germany’s DAX gained 0.3%, and France’s CAC-40 moved 0.9% higher.