Toronto stocks finished flat Thursday bolstered by a strong performance from gold stocks. The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 0.59 points at 6,453.13.

Investors are nervously awaiting the report from chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix on Friday to see if it will spur the United States into an attack on Iraq.

The TSX gold index rose 2.94%, as bullion prices rebounded from a sharp drop in the previous session.

Agnico-Eagle Mines gained 92¢ to $21.05, while Goldcorp added 64¢ to $18.14.

Barrick Gold rose 82¢ to $24.87 as investors gave their thumbs up to news that CEO Randall Oliphant had been axed.

Among active issues, Canadian Tire added 3¢ to $29.26, while oil and gas producer Nexen slipped 15¢ to $32.33.

WestJet rose 15¢ to $14.70 after posting a fourth-quarter profit that beat analyst expectations.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange rose 5.83 points to 1,087.13.

In New York, stocks closed lower for the third-straight session on Thursday, after a short rally failed to gain traction amid widespread fears of a possible Iraq war or terrorist attacks on the United States.

Investors appeared to ignore a report that showed U.S. retail sales, excluding autos, grew 1.3% in January, the fastest pace in more than two years

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 8.3 points at 7,749.87. The broader S&P 500 Index was down 1.31 points at 817.37. The tech heavy Nasdaq composite index slipped 1.53 points to 1,277.44.

War tensions weighed on the U.S. dollar. The Canadian dollar rose 0.5¢ to US65.89, its biggest one-day jump in six months.