The Toronto stock market closed little changed as traders continued to assess the chances of the U.S. going over the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

The double-whammy of tax increases and spending cuts are set to click in at the first of the year, which would erode an already weak U.S. economy.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 2.97 points to 12,373.77, while the Canadian dollar was off 0.37 of a cent to $1.0051 (U.S.).

Indexes closed well above the worst levels of the session on reports that the House of Representatives will be back in session Sunday evening.

The Dow Jones industrials lost 18.28 points to 13,096.31, the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.25 points to 2,985.91 and the S&P 500 index declined 1.74 points to 1,418.09.

At the same time, data showed “fiscal cliff” worries spread to U.S. consumers this month as the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to its lowest level since August.