The Canadian Press

Mixed earnings news and falling gold stocks helped push the Toronto stock market slightly lower Wednesday amid reassurances from the head of the U.S. central bank that key interest rates will stay low for quite a while yet.

The S&P/TSX composite index drifted 4.88 points lower to 11,521.83.

Investors also took in news that Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (TSX:BAM.A) has agreed to invest US$2.63 billion in General Growth Properties Inc., a U.S. shopping mall operator that has been operating under bankruptcy protection.

The announcement came on the heels of a hostile, $10-billion bid for General Growth from Simon Property Group, (NYSE:SPG) the largest U.S. owner of shopping malls. On the TSX, Brookfield shares were off 13¢ at C$24.04.

The U.S. Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke told a congressional committee that record low interest rates are still needed to ensure that the U.S. economic recovery will last and to help cushion the sting of high unemployment.

But the Fed chairman cautioned Wednesday that the moderate economic growth the central bank expects will lead to only a slow decline in the nearly double-digit U.S. unemployment rate.

The Fed surprised investors last week by hiking its discount rate, which it charges banks for emergency loans.

The TSX has been on a roller-coaster ride this year, falling almost 8% from mid-to-late January, followed by a rise of about 6% over the first three weeks of February as investors try to gauge the strength of the economic rebound.

“If you wanted to compare where we are today relative to the history, I think your best period would be the 2004 style of market, where we basically went nowhere for about seven months but sideways,” said Sid Mokhtari, market technician at CIBC World Markets.

“A lot of technicians are talking about how this market is going to stay range-bound.”

The Canadian dollar was closed up 0.24 of a cent to US94.88¢.

The gold sector was down 1.07% as the April gold contract on the Nymex declined $6 to US$1,097.20 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) faded 66¢ to $38.71.

Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX:CG) said Tuesday it earned US$140 million in its latest quarter. The Toronto-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, said revenue came in at US$323.9 million. Its shares rose 3¢ to C$11.82.

The consumer staples sector was down 0.77% with Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX:MFI) shares off 32¢ to $10.88 after the company reported fourth-quarter sales dipped slightly to $1.32 billion. The company had net income of $21.9 million in the quarter, compared with a loss of $14.6 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, shares in the leading supplier of store-brand carbonated beverages, Cott Corp. (TSX:BCB) eroded during the day, losing a cent to C$7.94 after it reported quarterly net income of US$14 million, a turnaround from the US$12.1-million loss it suffered a year earlier. Revenue improved by 3.9% to US$386 million.

The tech sector was the leading advancer, up 0.52% with Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) ahead $1.77 to $73.97.

The base metals sector was ahead 0.26% with March copper in New York up 2¢ at US$3.24 a pound.

Sherritt International Corp. (TSX:S) shares climbed 18¢ to $6.91 as the miner reported a $48.3-million profit for the fourth-quarter — a big contrast to the $592.1-million loss reported a year earlier by the metals, coal and oil producer. Revenue was little-changed at just under $380 million.

The energy sector was down a slight 0.08% as the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.14 to US$80 a barrel despite data from the U.S. Department of Energy that showed crude inventories in the U.S. shot up by three million barrels last week, much higher than the 1.9 million barrels economists had expected. Husky Energy (TSX:HSE) declined 21¢ to$27.15.

The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 0.58 of a point to 1,519.41.

New York markets were positive despite data showing that sales of new homes in the United States fell to the lowest levels on record in January.

New York’s Dow Jones industrials rose 91.75 points to 10,374.16.

The Nasdaq composite index was ahead 22.46 points to 2,235.9 while the S&P 500 index was up 10.64 points to 1,105.24.

In other earnings news, Thomson Reuters Inc. (TSX:TRI) announced Wednesday that it is raising its annual dividend by 4¢ to $1.16 a share. The information services company said net income fell to US$182 million in the fourth quarter, down from $566 million a year earlier. Overall revenue fell slightly to US$3.36 billion from US$3.4 billion and its shares declined 68¢ to $36.38.

@page_break@Shares in heavy equipment dealer Finning International Inc. (TSX:FTT) slipped 59¢ to $17.46 after the company had reported Tuesday that its earnings declined to $16.3 million in its latest quarter from $44.6 million a year earlier, while revenue fell 28%. The Vancouver-based company said it was seeing signs of recovery.

Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) was a bright spot on the TSX, rising 14¢ to $5.48 after the transport giant secured a billion-dollar contract from France’s national railway that could expand to become the largest in the company’s history. However, Bombardier declined to comment on reports it slashed its price in order to win the lucrative deal away from competitor Alstom.

In other corporate news, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda apologized on Wednesday for safety lapses that led to deaths and widespread recalls for accelerator and braking failures. But, in an appearance before a congressional committee, he disputed claims by some safety experts that the cars’ electronic throttles might be at fault. Toyota shares advanced $2.78 to US$74.33.