North American markets reacted differently Wednesday morning to disappointing economic news.

Stocks in Toronto posted gains — the S&P/TSX composite index was up six points or 0.07% to 8628 at noon — despite indications economic output slowed in February. The TSX venture exchange was also up at noon, 13.77 points or 0.74% to 1874.

In New York, a slide in crude prices helped offset weaker-than-expected economic data and anxiety over a tumble in the U.S. dollar. Still, Wall Street was off by mid-day — the Dow Jones industrial average fell 35 points or 0.3% to 10345, while the S&P 500 index was down 2.3 points or 0.2% to 1124 and the Nasdaq dipped six points or 0.3% at 1994.

In Canada, Bay Street held its ground despite data showing the Canadian economy shrank 0.1% in January after a 0.5% increase in December. Weak auto sales in recent months were a big contributor to the dip in the economy, with manufacturing output falling 0.7% after a significant increase in December of 1.2%. The Canadian dollar lost ground on that news, falling 0.15¢ to US76.37¢.

On the TSX, advancers led decliners 563 to 516 with 229 stocks unchanged. The TSX gold index posted the biggest gain, at 1.09%, with telecommunications and energy stocks also up, 0.47% and 0.22% respectively. Financials were up slightly, 0.06%. Information technology, consumer discretionary and utilities were all off.

On the TSXV, advancers lead decliners 343 to 338 with 235 unchanged.

The jump in gold shares was thanks to news of a major deal in the Canadian gold sector. Canadian mining firms Wheaton River and Iamgold said they plan to merge their operations in a nearly $3-billion deal they say will create one of the world’s top-10 gold producers.

In other Canadian news, insolvent Air Canada announced a new pension deal with one its major unions, the Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

In the U.S., May crude futures dropped $1.10 to $35.15 after the American Petroleum Institute said crude stocks rose 8.4 million barrels for the week ending March 26. That backed up data from the U.S. Energy Department, which showed that crude stocks increased by 5.7 million barrels. Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said they would cut crude production by 1 million barrels a day, prompting the White House to respond by saying the oil cartel should not take actions to hurt the U.S. economy.

A measure of manufacturing activity in the Chicago region came in at 57.6% in March, well below expectations for 61.6%. In addition, February factory orders rose a surprisingly weak 0.3% vs expectations of a 1.7% increase.

Asian stocks closed mostly higher, though the gains in Tokyo and Hong Kong were only marginal and the U.S. dollar plunged to a four-year low against the Japanese yen.

Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues edged up 21.71 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 11,715.39. Advances by banks, builders, steelmakers and other domestic-related sectors pulled the Nikkei higher, despite losses in export issues – dragged down by the yen’s strength against the U.S. dollar.

Shares in Hong Kong rose marginally in a mixed session as investors tried to assess whether prices had bottomed out after sliding sharply over the past month. The Hang Seng Index added 40.28 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 12,681.67.

London’s FTSE 100 index edged 27.2 points lower at 4,385.6. Frankfurt’s DAX 30 was 0.55 per cent lighter while the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.14 per cent.