Markets mixed as investors await jobs data

• The Toronto stock market closed lower Thursday as traders prepared to take in the release of job creation data Friday. They also absorbed the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis that could see Ukraine break up.

The S&P/TSX composite index declined 32.25 points to 14,271.92.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.38 of a cent to US90.98¢ amid a better-than-expected read on building permits in January.

U.S. indexes were mainly higher, with the Dow Jones industrials up 61.71 points to 16,421.89. The Nasdaq declined 5.84 points to 4352.13 while the S&P 500 index was ahead 3.22 points to 1877.03.

Harsh winter conditions have crimped job creation and expectations for the February U.S. non-farm payrolls report are muted. Economists expect the report to show around 145,000 new positions were created last month. But there was positive news out ahead of that data. Weekly applications for U.S. unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, declined to the lowest level in three months.

In Canada, analysts expect the report to show the economy created about 15,000 jobs last month.

The industrials component lost 0.55% as Montreal-based engineering firm SNCLavalin Group Inc. reported a quarterly profit of $92.54-million or 61¢ a share, down from $93.84-million a year ago, missing forecasts by a penny. Its shares fell $1.98 to $46.39.