U.S. markets bounced back from their lows Tuesday after the price of oil retreated, but Canadian investors were left in the dark most of the day after a power failure froze the main Toronto indices.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 4.79 points or 0.05% to 10077.18. The Nasdaq lost 3.59 points or 0.19% to 1925.17 and the S&P 500 fell 2.55 points or 0.23% at 1121.84.

Toronto’s main indices were flat-lined after about 10:30 a.m. ET when the glitch occurred. At the time, the S&P/TSX was down 37.74 points or 0.43% to 8777.15, while the TSX Venture exchange had fallen 14.92 points or 0.88% to 1681.23.

By about 4:30 p.m. ET, the TSX Web site said the S&P/TSX closed down 29.03 points or 0.33% to 8785.86. The TSXV lost 20.28 or 1.2% at 1675.87.

The TSX Group said in a release, issued late in the day, that it was working with Standard & Poor’s, which processes the TSX data, “to ensure the issue is corrected as soon as possible, and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our web site visitors.

“Trading activity on Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange, and the data feeds supplied by TSX Datalinx, continue as normal,” the exchange group said.

The technical problem also affected other S&P services, including S&P Global indices and S&P European indices. An S&P spokesman said closing data will be available, but was unclear as to what time it would be released.

Investors could still go to the TSX Web site (www.tsx.com) to get individual stock prices.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.26 of a cent at US79.61¢ late in the day.

In New York, U.S. blue-chip stocks changed course and rose late Tuesday afternoon as a drop in oil prices helped steady the market, although investors remained cautious before tech bellwether Intel Corp.’s earnings. The Dow slipped into positive territory briefly before finishing down slightly on the day.

Blue-chip stocks recovered from session lows after oil prices — a major concern for investors — declined from record levels above US$54 per barrel. The broader stock market also sharply cut losses, but was still marginally lower.

U.S. crude futures fell $1.14 to US$52.50 a barrel at close of the trading day, after setting a record high at $54.45 in overnight trade on Tuesday. In New York, the November crude contract settled at US$52.51, down $1.13 for the day.

Sectors such as industrials, which are sensitive to oil price moves, gained. General Motors Corp. rose 29¢ to US$41.71 while Caterpillar Inc. rose 56¢ to US$79.97.

But chip makers were lower after Philips Electronics, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics firm, said its closely watched chip unit would manage only flat sales in the fourth quarter. Philips fell almost 4%, or 89¢, to US$22.68.

Intel, the world’s largest semiconductor maker, was also in focus ahead of its third-quarter results after the closing bell. The company warned last month its revenue and profit margin for the third quarter would not be as high as previously thought. Intel’s stock was down 20¢ at $20.41, a 1% drop.