North American stocks fell Thursday, as markets reacted to a second round of explosions in London and the decision by China to unpeg its currency from the US dollar.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 11.96, or 0.12%, to 10,317.68

Volume on the senior exchange was 244 million shares.

Two weeks to the day after the London transit explosions that killed more than 50 people, minor explosions struck three of the city’s Underground stations and a bus. The attacks were thought to be linked. No one was killed.

London’s FTSE index showed no ill effects, ended marginally higher on the day.

Facing political pressure, China announced it would free its currency from a decade-long peg to the U.S. dollar. The Chinese government said it would drop the link between the yuan and the greenback, allowing the exchange rate to be set by a basket of currencies, to be named later.

The value of one yuan rose by about .25 of a cent to US12.33¢.

The Canadian dollar finished gain of 0.24 cent at US82.11¢.

Seven of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the information technology losing 2.06% and the telecommunications services group down 0.85%.

Nortel Networks fell 12¢, or 3.54%, to close $3.27, while ATI Technologies dropped 17¢, or 1.29%, to finish $13.02.

In the telecom sector, Telus Corp. fell 95¢, or 2.21%, to $041.95 as workers at Canada’s second-biggest phone company went on strike.

After the bell, Celestica said it reversed a year-earlier net loss due largely to a one-time gain, but the contract electronics manufacturer issued a weaker-than-expected third-quarter forecast.

Celestica said it earned US$12.6 million, or 6¢ a share, for the quarter ended June 30, versus a year-before loss of US$7.9 million, or 4¢ a share.

Before the announcement, Celestica shares closed down 43¢, or 2.4%, at $17.52.

Gold for August delivery closed up $3.60 US at $425.70 an ounce, benefiting from a weaker U.S. dollar. The gold sector, a subset of the materials group, lifted 2.74%.

September crude futures closed down $1.27 at US$56.75 amid continued market reaction to news Wednesday of a smaller-than-expected decline in oil inventories.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 10.11, or 0.58%, to 1,755.50.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 61.38, or 0.57%, to 10,627.77. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite idex dropped 9.97, or 0.46%, to 2,178.60, and the S&P 500 lost 8.16, or 0.66%, to 1,227.04.

Earnings reports from major corporations were mostly positive. The technology sector got a boost as eBay Inc., the online auctioneer, posted a 53% increase in second-quarter earnings. EBay shares soared 20%, or $7.23, to US$42.10.

Coca-Cola Co. rose 62¢ to US$43.95 after it saw a 9% in quarterly profits.

Fellow Dow component McDonald’s Corp. had solid, if somewhat lackluster, earnings that came in above Wall Street’s expectations. McDonald’s fell 12¢ to US$30.78.