Toronto’s S&P/TSX index fell 6.45 points to 7,660.58 Tuesday, as soaring gold stocks almost made up for losses in other sectors.

Eight of the TSX’s 13 sub-indices lost ground, but the gold sector jumped 5.2%.

The strong gains came as the price of gold advanced another US$3.70 to US$323.90, driven by investors seeking a haven for their money.

Placer Dome climbed $1.43 to $21.73.

Also helping to staunch losses elsewhere, the banking subgroup recovered from early weakness to post a 0.23% gain on the day.

Scotiabank finished up $1.61 at $54.55 after reporting an 11% rise in second-quarter profit.

Bank of Montreal fell 35¢ to $36.60, after its second-quarter profit fell by half, hit by higher loan loss provisions for debt-ridden telecoms provider Teleglobe Inc.

Toronto volume was 231.2 million shares were exchanged.
Market momentum was slightly negative, as 520 issues advanced and 549 declined.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange was off 0.95 of a point at 1,225.31.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial fell 122.68 points at 9,981.58, while the Nasdaq composite index slipped 9.34 points to 1,652.15.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that consumer spending increased by 0.5% in April and the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 109.8 this month from a revised 108.5 in April. However, the markets were hoping for stronger showings from both reports.

The Canadian dollar closed at US65.32¢, up US0.09¢ from Monday.