The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that there was not much movement either way in North American markets on Wednesday. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says a stronger-than-expected U.S. employment report eased worries about the economy but also fuelled bets that the Federal Reserve could slow its interest-rate cuts. Major U.S. and Canadian indexes had started the session on a strong note, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting their highest level in more than a week after the closely watched payrolls report showed much faster than expected U.S. job growth in January while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 per cent. However, gains subsided as traders dialled back on bets for rate cuts. While traders are still banking on at least one 25-basis-point cut in June, the probability that rates would hold steady that month moved up to 41 per cent from 24.8 per cent. Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investments, said, "It comes down to the sweet spot of hiring being strong enough to show us the economy is resilient but not so strong as to derail expectations for future Fed easing." The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended down 2.64 points at 33,254.19, after earlier touching 33,693.39.