TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was lower Thursday amid small moves in commodity prices and a heavy slate of earnings news. The S&P/TSX composite index was 7.6 points lower to 14,051.58 in early trading. The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.49 points to 2,404.91. The Canadian dollar was up a tenth of a cent to 101.63 cents US. The base metals group led losses as copper prices continued to retreat from the latest record high reached on Monday. The March copper contract in New York edged two cents lower to US$4.45 a pound. The sector was down 0.67 per cent with Equinox Minerals (TSX:EQN) down 16 cents to $6.54 while Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) lost nine cents to $7.25. Oil prices were soft after data Wednesday showed crude inventories rose far less than expected last week and pushed oil up to almost US$85 a barrel. On Thursday, the March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose five cents to US$85.04 a barrel and the energy sector dipped 0.2 per cent. Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) declined 24 cents to $43.22 while Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) lost 23 cents to $46.94. Gold advanced for a fourth session with the April contract on the Nymex ahead $6.80 to US$1,381.90 an ounce. Solid earnings reports also helped the sector along after Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) reported that its fourth-quarter profit rose to a record US$896 million or 90 cents a share, helped by higher production and lower cash costs. That compared to $215 million or 21 cents per share in the same quarter a year before. On an adjusted basis, quarterly profits at the world's biggest gold producer were ahead 57 per cent to $947 million, or 95 cents per share, handily beating analyst expectations of 91 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters. Quarterly sales were $2.95 billion from $2.36 billion and Barrick shares rose 58 cents to $49.56.

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