Strong oil prices pushed the Toronto stock market higher and the New York market lower in midday trading amid concerns over inflation.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 44.82 points to 14,181.32 as investors also took in a widely-expected move by the Bank of Canada to leave its key interest rate unchanged at one per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average declined 10.41 points to 12,215.93. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 5.96 points to 2,776.31 and the S&P 500 index was down 2.73 points to 1,324.49.
U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned that a prolonged rise in oil prices would pose a danger to the economy. But he also said the more likely outcome is a temporary and modest increase in consumer prices, not runaway inflation.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.28 of a cent to 102.66 cents (U.S.) as the Canadian central bank warned of the negative effects of a rising currency. The bank said that "the export sector continues to face considerable challenges from the cumulative effects of the persistent strength in the Canadian dollar and Canada's poor relative productivity performance."
The energy sector was up 0.23 per cent as oil prices advanced. Fighting in Libya continued to unnerve markets, with the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up $1.44 to $98.41 a barrel.
Gold stocks also advanced as the April bullion contract in New York climbed $14.10 to $1,424 an ounce.
The base metals sector weighed on the market, down 0.5 per cent as the March copper contract in New York gave up early gains and declined three cents to $4.45 a pound.
U.S. markets failed to find lift from a better than expected rise in a key manufacturing index during February. The Institute for Supply Management's index rose to 61.4, up from 60.8 in December.