Toronto stocks closed lower on Thursday, pulling back from yesterday’s broad-based rally. The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 14.52 points to 6,396.63.

News of two corporate restructurings dominated trading session in Toronto.

Investors gave a thumbs up to Bombardier’s restructuring in spite of a steep fourth-quarter loss recorded by the company.

Bombardier shares rose 32¢ to $3.56, after the plane and train maker unveiled a $1 billion fourth-quarter loss and a sweeping restructuring program as it struggles to cope with a sagging aviation sector and heavy debt.

The most notable of Bombardier’s changes will be the sale of the recreational products unit, which dates back to 1942. The 7,500-employee division makes Sea-Doo personal watercraft and the Ski-Doo brand of snowmobiles. The sale is expected to bring in $1.5 billion.

Investors were less sanguine about the restructuring announced by TD Bank. The bank’s shares fell 40¢ to $32.90 after it unveiled plans to restructure its international wealth management and U.S. equity options business, leading to big writedowns, charges and a second-quarter loss.

Bank of Montreal fell 52¢ to $40.38, while Bank of Nova Scotia slipped 64¢ to $52.01.

The heavily weighted TSX financial sector slipped 0.46%.

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 3.75 at 1,050.09.

In New York, stocks ended slightly lower on Thursday as investors digested weak economic data that renewed fears about the fragile U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 44.68 points at 8,240.38. The S&P 500 slipped 4.45 points to 876.45. The Nasdaq Composite index ended down just 0.01 percent, or 0.14 point, at 1,396.58.

Hopes that U.S. forces’ offensive toward Baghdad may herald a quick end to the war in Iraq helped keep the market higher for most of the day.

But worries about the shaky U.S. economy resurfaced after a report showed that the services sector shrank unexpectedly in March, and a separate report showed a surprisingly big jump in jobless claims last week.

The Canadian dollar closed down 0.16 of a cent at US67.87.

The Bank of Canada stuck to its hawkish stance on Thursday, reiterating that more interest rate hikes will be needed to cool an economy operating at close to full capacity.

Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Paul Jenkins said monetary policy still remained stimulative.

Jenkins repeated the bank’s oft-stated line that the timing of any rate hikes will depend on demand and inflation as well as confidence and the war in Iraq.

The central bank’s next announcement date is April 15.