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A sign board displaying Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) stock information is seen in Toronto June 23, 2014.© Mark Blinch / Reuters

Canada's main stock index was little changed Monday as Bombardier and Husky Energy made significant gains, which was offset by declines in resource stocks and BlackBerry, which hit a 2017 high last week.

Trading was quiet as the U.S. stock markets took the day off for the Memorial Day holiday.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 4.98 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 15,421.91.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 74.30 cents U.S., down 0.09 of a cent.

Seven of the index's 10 sectors were down, but the market was led higher by the industrials, information technology and consumer discretionary stocks.

Bombardier rose 4 per cent to $2.35. BMO Nesbitt Burns upgraded the stock after it said on Friday it delivered its first CS300 aircraft to customer Swiss International Air Lines AG.

The broader industrials group gained 0.7 per cent, with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd up 0.4 per cent to $214.49.

Its rival, Canadian National Railway Co., faces the threat of a strike on Tuesday morning after the railroad announced new work rules in the midst of negotiations to replace a contract that expired last year. Its stock was off 0.3 per cent at $103.38.

The financials group gained 0.1 per cent, with Royal Bank of Canada rising 0.6 per cent to $94.47, Bank of Montreal gaining 0.4 per cent to $91.51, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce up 0.8 per cent at $106.20.

Markets in China, the United States and Britain were closed for public holidays.

Bank of Nova Scotia, which is due to report its earnings on Tuesday, was up 0.3 per cent at $76.04.

Boyd Group Income Fund advanced 10 per cent to $98.50 after announcing it would purchase collision repair company Assured Automotive Inc.

Husky Energy Inc. shares rose 2 per cent to $16.46 after the oil and gas producer said it is proceeding with its $2.2-billion West White Rose project in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.

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European shares inched lower in quiet trading on Monday with Italian stocks left behind as talk over a possible early election weighed, hitting banks.

Activity was reduced as holidays in major markets such Britain and the United States kept investors away.

The euro zone equity index slipped 0.16 per cent, while Italian blue chips fell 2 per cent to their lowest level in more than three weeks, while Germany's DAX added 0.2 per cent.

European shares remain close to 21 month highs hit earlier in May as investors comforted by surprisingly strong earnings and solid economic prospects poured fresh money into the region.

Asian markets were also lower overall after some early gains that largely shrugged off another missile launch by North Korea , the broad MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipping 0.2 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.2 per cent while Australian shares fell as much as 0.8 per cent, hit by another round of falls in the prices of oil and other commodities. China's markets are also closed on Monday and Tuesday for a holiday.

The Canadian Press, Reuters

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