Toronto stocks closed slightly higher on Thursday after bargain hunters emerged late in the trading session.

The S&P/TSX composite index had dropped 200 points earlier following comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that sparked worries over the health of the U.S. economy.

The benchmark index closed up 10.41 points at 14,128.59, with six sectors of the 10 TSX groups higher and two flat.

Research In Motion shares fell on fears it would be hit by the drop in demand from U.S. banks that was cited by Cisco Systems on Wednesday.

RIM closed $6.42, or 5.2%, lower at $117.10 after falling as much as 12% earlier in the day.

That helped drag the tech sector down 1.3%.

Financials ended the day 0.2% higher, after falling Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada shares rose 22¢, or 0.4%, to $51.85, and National Bank of Canada was up 65¢, or 1.3%, at $52.79.

Power Financial reported net income of $457 million or 62 cents per share in 2007, down from $795 million or $1.10 per share and its shares inched 4¢ lower to $39.71.

The energy group finished 0.4% higher with Suncor Energy up $1.05, or 1%, at $104.39, and Petro-Canada up 13¢, or 0.2%, at $55.68.

The materials group advanced on news of miner BHP Billiton’s $140 billion takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto rejected the offer.

Barrick Gold rose 37¢, or 0.9%, to $43.15, and Goldcorp gained 3¢, or 0.01%, to $33.68.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index was down 40.09 points to 3,068.86.

The Canadian dollar closed down 0.91 cent to US$1.0684 after rising earlier in the session.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell for a second straight day, led by declines in the Nasdaq after tech bellwether Cisco Systems signaled the credit crisis was hurting demand from key customers, including banks.

Cisco’s chief executive said late on Wednesday the largest maker of computer networking equipment had suffered a dramatic drop in orders from banks and retailers.

Voicing similar worries about the outlook for the economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. economy faced risks on both the growth and inflation fronts.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33.73 points, or 0.25%, to end at 13,266.29. The S&P 500 was down just 0.85 of a point, or 0.06%, at 1,474.77. The Nasdaq composite index was down 52.76 points, or 1.92%, at 2,696.00.