Trading on North American markets was flat today. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 1.45 points, or 0.02%, at 8,457.30 on volume of 248 million shares worth $3.64 billion.

Investors didn’t get the direction they had hoped for on interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday. The U.S. central bank left rates unchanged as expected but indicated that it may begin “measured” hikes down the road. Meanwhile, they’re waiting for the latest news on jobs, which is due out on both sides of the border on Friday.

Six of the TSX’s 10 sub-groups ended higher with health-care up 1.34%, recovering from yesterday’s modest declines. Telecoms rose 1.04% as big names in the sector reported strong quarterly profits. The energy and materials groups also made modest gains.

The downside came from the tech sector that fell 0.75% and financials that dropped off 0.07%. Industrials lost 0.76%.

Only minor gains were made on Wall Street, where the interest rate malaise similarly affected investors.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose a mere 2.03 points, or 0.18%, to 1,121.58. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 6.78 points, or 0.35%, to 1,957.26.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 6.25 points, or 0.06%, to 10,310.95.