North American stocks ended Thursday little changed, due to mixed economic reports on U.S. initial jobless claims and business activity in the Philadelphia region. However, markets ended on a high note when Research In Motion Ltd. delivered upbeat financial results.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 10,594.83, up 22.10 points, or 0.2 per cent. The broader S&P 500 closed at 1124.66, down 0.41 of a point. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index closed at 12,173.35, up 28.51 points, or 0.2 per cent.
FedEx Corp. made early headlines after the package delivery company reported a big jump in its fiscal first quarter earnings, due to better-than-expected revenues. However, the shares fell 3.8 per cent after it delivered an earnings forecast for the second quarter that was below analysts' expectations.
Ford Motor Co. rose 4.8 per cent after the stock was upgraded to an "outperform" recommendation by Barclays Capital, from "market perform."
Technology stocks were also strong, with Hewlett-Packard Co. rising 1.8 per cent and Cisco Systems Inc. rising 1.6 per cent.
In Canada, Research In Motion rose 2.1 per cent ahead of delivering its fiscal second quarter results after markets closed. The BlackBerry maker reported earnings of $1.46 (U.S.) a share, beating the consensus forecast among analysts for earnings of $1.36 a share. The company also forecast earnings for the third quarter that were well ahead of expectations.
Meanwhile, gold producers were helped out by the price of gold, which hit a new record high on Thursday, closing at $1273.80 an ounce, up $5.10. Barrick Gold Corp. rose 2 per cent.
However, energy stocks were mixed after the price crude oil fell to $74.57 a barrel, down $1.45. Suncor Energy Inc. fell 2 per cent but Canadian Oil Sands Trust rose 0.9 per cent.