The Toronto stock market closed higher as worries surrounding the Syrian crisis eased amid little news on the economic calendar.
The S&P/TSX composite index finished up just 0.94 of a point at 12,825.42, while the Canadian dollar jumped 0.31 of a cent to 96.95 cents US.
The financial markets have settled down somewhat since President Barack Obama said the United States will hold off from a military strike after Syria agreed to a Russian proposal to hand over its chemical weapons. The U.S. military threat came following accusations that Syrian government forces used chemical weapons in an attack in Damascus on Aug. 21.
U.S. indexes were mixed throughout the day as the Dow Jones industrial index registered a solid gain of 135.54 points to 15,326.60 and the S&P 500 climbed 5.14 points to 1,689.13.
The Nasdaq was down 4.01 points to 3,725.01, a day after Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL) revealed two new models of its popular iPhone – including a lower priced version aimed at emerging markets. It seems investors may have been disappointed by the announcement, resulting in Apple shares closing down more than five per cent at US$467.83.
Commodities showed little change as December gold bullion fell 20 cents to US$1,363.80 an ounce and December copper was unchanged at US$3.26 a pound. The benchmark October crude contract was up 17 cents to US$107.56 a barrel.