Canada’s main stock index fell, while U.S. counterparts stayed relatively flat today as investors awaited news from an OPEC meeting, as well as economic data due out tomorrow.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell by 42.42 points to 16,854.92.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 28.01 points to 27,677.79. The S&P 500 index advanced 4.67 points to 3,117.43, while the Nasdaq composite rose 4.03 points to 8,570.70.

The Canadian dollar traded at US75.91¢, compared with an average of US75.63¢ on Wednesday.

The January crude oil contract remained unchanged at US$58.43 per barrel and the January natural gas contract advanced US2.8¢ to roughly US$2.43 mmBTU.

The February gold contract rose US$2.90 to US$1,483.10 an ounce and the March copper contract inched forward 0.4 of a cent to US$2.663 a pound.