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The materials sector led a broad-based decline on Canada’s main stock index while U.S. markets were largely flat.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 62.42 points at 16,087.55.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 7.05 points at 25,709.94. The S&P 500 index was down 2.44 points at 2,808.48, while the Nasdaq composite was down 12.50 points at 7,630.91.

The Canadian dollar averaged US75.04¢, unchanged from Wednesday.

The April crude contract closed up US35¢ at US$58.61 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was up four cents at US$2.86 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract ended down US$14.20 at US$1,295.10 an ounce and the May copper contract was down four cents at US$2.89 a pound.