TORONTO (Bloomberg) - Canada's main equity index fell less than a point, the fourth day in a row the benchmark moved less than 0.3 percent, as investors awaited earnings reports for a signal on the strength of the economic recovery.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Canada's third-largest energy company by market value, lost two percent as oil declined. Cameco Corp., the world's second-largest uranium producer, advanced 6.7 percent after rival BHP Billiton Ltd. said it may miss deliveries because of an October 6 accident at a mine in Australia. The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.27 point, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,538.12.

The benchmark index has changed less than 0.3 percent a day on below-average volume since October 14 as traders await earnings reports from some of Canada's largest companies. The last time the index moved less than 0.3 percent for four days was in February 2007. Canadian National Railway Co., Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan, EnCana Corp. and Shaw Communications Inc. are among companies to report profit or loss this week.

"It's really in a waiting mode," said Laura Wallace, who helps manage about C$275 million ($261.8 million) as a portfolio manager at Coleford Investment Management in Toronto. "There's really so many conflicting signals, it's hard for people to have conviction."

The US government reported housing starts rose 0.5 percent in September, less than the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The housing news overshadowed positive earnings surprises from US companies including Apple Inc. and Caterpillar Inc.

The Bank of Canada maintained its benchmark overnight interest rate target at a record-low 0.25 percent and warned the Canadian dollar's rally is likely to "more than fully offset" improvements in the economy since July. Canada's currency has risen 10 percent against the US dollar since June 30.

"The indications are we're over the worst, but there are no indications we're going to have a V-shaped recovery," Ms Wallace said. "I think that we're sort of in a mode where we're waiting to see what the economic data looks like, and it's certainly not definitive."

Bombardier Inc., the world's biggest business-jet maker, lost 3.6 percent, to C$4.82. Thirty-five percent of the company's sales come from the US, compared with 5.1 percent from Canada.

Every one cent increase in the value of the Canadian dollar against its US counterpart adds about $5 million to Bombardier's costs after foreign-exchange contracts are taken into account, according to a regulatory filing.

Oil futures fell in New York for the first time in nine days, reflecting a 0.6 percent decline in the S&P 500. Canadian Natural Resources sank two percent, the most since October 2, to C$76.66. Suncor Energy Inc., Canada's largest energy company, decreased 0.7 percent to C$39.87. Nexen Inc. slumped 2.3 percent to C$25.76 after announcing an output cut at its Buzzard oil field in the UK.

The US dollar's gains for the day weakened the appeal of precious metals as an alternative investment. Goldcorp Inc., Canada's second-largest gold producer, dropped 0.5 percent to C$43.58. Its larger competitor, Barrick Gold Corp., fell 1.1 percent to C$39.66.

BHP declared force majeure on contracts with copper and uranium customers expecting product from the company's Olympic Dam mine. A mechanical failure forced the shutdown of the mine's main haulage shaft. Force majeure is a legal clause that allows companies to miss their obligations due to circumstances beyond their control.

Cameco jumped 6.7 percent to a 14-month high of C$32.51. Uranium One Inc., which explores for the metal in South Africa, Australia and Canada, advanced 5.5 percent to C$3.25.

Rogers Communications Inc., which sells Apple's iPhone in Canada, climbed 2.8 percent to C$28.33 after Apple said it earned $1.82 a share in its fourth quarter, excluding certain items, beating the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg by 27 percent. Apple said demand for the smart phone outpaced supply for most of the quarter. BCE Inc., whose Bell Canada unit will begin selling the iPhone next month, gained 0.8 percent to C$25.89

Aastra Technologies Ltd., which makes telecommunications equipment, soared 19 percent, the most since April, to C$28.23. The Toronto-area company said it earned 71 cents a share, excluding certain items, in the third quarter. The four analysts Bloomberg surveyed, on average, expected a profit of 55 cents a share.