Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market closed little changed after a disappointing U.S. jobs report renewed concerns about the health of the American economy.

Mining stocks moved higher amid strong metals prices, however, as the S&P/TSX composite index edged up 3.72 points to 12,501.72.

The flat results followed a report from Automatic Data Processing that U.S. private-sector employment slipped by 39,000 jobs in September, marking the first drop since January and a steeper decline than economists had predicted.

The ADP data suggested that the U.S. government’s September non-farm payrolls report, due Friday, could also be weaker than expected.

The data followed a better than expected reading on the U.S. service sector Tuesday, which gave markets a boost on both sides of the border.

“Basically, after a big move, people today got a dose of the reality that not everything’s well in the economy despite better than expected data in the last couple weeks,” said Luciano Orengo, portfolio manager at MFC Global Investment Management.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar gained 0.59 of a cent to 98.94 cents US, a five-month high, as fears of a currency war sent the U.S. dollar lower. Earlier in the day, the dollar climbed as high as 99.37 cents US.

The gold sector climbed as the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit yet another record high, gaining $7.40 to close at US$1,347.70 an ounce. Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) gained 90 cents to C$49.08.

The base metals sector added 0.7% as the December copper contract advanced 2.65 cents to US$3.75 a pound.

Shares in HudBay Minerals Inc. (TSX:HBM) added 24 cents to C$15.52 after the base metals miner said it has entered into a deal allowing it to buy up to 14.15% of junior exploration company MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (TSXV:BMK). Shares in MacDonald Mines gained 2.5 cents to 20 cents.

The TSX energy sector slipped 0.1% following a report that U.S. crude inventories rose last week by 3.1 million barrels. The November crude contract gained 41 cents to US$83.23 a barrel on the Nymex, boosted by a lower U.S. dollar. Shares in Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) fell 29 cents to C$34.57.

Financial stocks edged up 0.1%. Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) added 12 cents to $55.07 after the bank announced it had acquired the wealth-management business of BNP Paribas in Panama and the Cayman Islands.

And the information technology sector tumbled 2.3% as shares in Research in Motion (TSX:RIM) fell following a report from ComScore that the BlackBerry maker is losing market share to Google’s Android operating system. RIM was down $2.13, or 4.2%, at $48.47.

The TSX Venture Exchange added 6.03 points to 1,774.06.

On Wall Street, markets were mixed following the ADP report, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 22.93 points at 10,967.65. The Nasdaq composite index lost 19.17 points to 2,380.66, while the S&P 500 index was off 0.78 of a point at 1,159.97.

In corporate news, Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B) will pay $425 million to buy the owner and operator of one of Ontario’s largest fibre-optic networks in a move that positions the company to capitalize on the next generation of high-speed Internet. Shares in Rogers were up 11 cents at $39.14.

Maple Leaf Foods (MFI:TSX) stock fell 41 cents to $11.97 after the company announced broad operational changes, including plant consolidation and construction of a new prepared-meats factory starting in 2012. The cost reduction efforts are expected to boost profit margins by 75% over the next five years, the company said.

Shares in Air Canada (TSX:AC.B) jumped 24 cents or 8.4% to $3.11 after the airline said Tuesday its load factor increased 2.5 percentage points in September compared with a year earlier.

And Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX:L) says it will begin selling mobile phones at more than 500 of its supermarkets, carrying offerings from all of the major providers, including the new entrants. Shares in Loblaw added 11 cents to $41.20.

South of the border, Johnson & Johnson agreed to buy Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV for about US$2.41 billion. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) first announced it was planning an offer last month. Its shares were up 41 cents at US$63.21.

And General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) will buy energy equipment maker Dresser Inc. for about $3 billion to capitalize on the boom in natural gas in the U.S. and abroad. Shares in GE added 39 cents to US$16.90.