TORONTO – The Toronto stock market looked to start off little changed after Asian stock markets fell for a second day Thursday and an insurgency in Iraq raised the risk of disruption to oil supplies.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.04 of a cent to 92.06 cents US after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed to keep its output target unchanged at 30 million barrels a day.

U.S. futures were up with the Dow Jones Industrial futures up six points to 16,843.88, the Nasdaq futures up 0.70 to 3,797.88 while the S&P 500 futures were up 0.50 to 1,943.89.

Asian stock markets fell for a second day Thursday and European shares drifted as a dimmer outlook for global growth this year gave investors a reason to lock in recent gains.

The World Bank cut its 2014 growth forecast Tuesday to 2.8 per cent from the 3.2 per cent it predicted in January, citing a harsh American winter and the tensions in Ukraine. That is still faster than 2013 growth of 2.4 per cent but it means a delay in economic recovery.

Britain’s FTSE 100 was lower, Germany’s DAX was up and France’s CAC 40 was also up.

Oil rose to just more than US$106 per barrel Thursday after Al Qaeda-inspired group has captured two key cities in Iraq. One of those two cities, Mosul, lies in an area that is a major gateway for Iraqi oil.

On Wednesday, OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badry said the oil market is “very stable” in deciding to keep output unchanged. Traders interpreted the decision as recognition within OPEC that most members would not be able to substantially increase output in the short-term even if the world’s demand for crude increases.

On the corporate front, Lululemon Athletica Inc. is reporting a lower first-quarter profit of $19 million as the yoga wear company moves to boost its share price and move beyond boardroom controversy. Lululemon (Nasdaq:LULU) said Thursday that its board of directors has approved a stock buy-back program up to US$450 million of its common shares to create more shareholder value after seeing its shares sink over the past year.

Package tour company Transat A.T. Inc. (TSX:TRZ.A) reduced its net loss to $7.9 million for the second quarter from $22.8 million in the year-ago period as revenues rose one per cent to $1.1 billion. The parent company of airline Transat said the results for the quarter and the winter are slightly better than it expected, despite a sudden drop in value of the Canadian dollar that led to a significant increase in operating expenses. Those were up by $22 million.

Discount retailer Dollarama (TSX:DOL) says sales rose by almost 12 per cent to $501.1 million in the first quarter despite challenging weather conditions that affected traffic to stores during the winter and spring. That compared with $448.1 million in the year-ago period. Net profit was $53.2 million, up from $45.6 million in the same quarter last year.

On the commodity markets, the July crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up $1.95 to US$106.35 a barrel.

August bullion was up $6 to US$1,267.2 an ounce, while July copper was virtually unchanged at US$3.03 a pound.