Canada's main stock index was little changed on Thursday, as gains in gold were countered by a drop in oil prices, while Bombardier rose after strong quarterly results.

At 09:38 a.m. ET (13:38 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 3.64 points, or 0.02%, at 19,307.1.

Gold rose for a second straight session after the dollar retreated, as investors awaited US economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve's strategy on monetary support going forward.

The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, added 1.0% as gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,792.7 an ounce.

Oil prices slipped after early gains, pressured by rising COVID-19 infections in India and elsewhere and despite a much sharper than expected fall in US crude inventories.

Bombardier rose 3.3% after the company's quarterly adjusted profit jumped 43% and it used less free cash, helped by a recovery in business aviation, as rising COVID-19 vaccinations encourage travel.

Auto parts maker Magna International Inc added 1% after reporting a 136% rise in quarterly profit and raising its full-year revenue outlook.

The financials sector slipped 0.1%. The industrials sector fell 0.3%.

On the TSX, 103 issues were higher, while 117 issues declined for a 1.14-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 16.04 million shares traded.

The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were Spin Master Corp and SSR Mining Inc, jumping 10.4% and 5.8% respectively after strong quarterly results.

Cascades Inc fell 6.1%, the most on the TSX, after poor quarterly results.

The second biggest decliner was Stantec Inc, down 4.7%.

The most heavily traded shares by volume were Enbridge Inc , Nevada Copper and Manulife Financial Corp .

The TSX posted 10 new 52-week highs and one new low.

Across all Canadian issues there were 70 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows, with total volume of 33.95 million shares.