Toronto stocks moved modestly lower Wednesday, breaking a run of five consecutive positive sessions and record closes, as investors elected to pause from the blistering pace of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 6.06 points, or 0.05%, to 12,889.84.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups were up.

The materials sector fell 0.66%, with the gold sub-sector losing 1.54%.

The February gold contract dropped $12 to close at US$635.90 an ounce on renewed strength in the U.S. dollar.

Goldcorp Inc. lost 80¢, or 2.29%, to $34.15.

The energy sector was off 0.03% despite a modest rise in the price of oil. Light, sweet crude futures gained 24¢ at US$62.19 a barrel.

Petro-Canada lost 7¢, or 0.14%, to $51.33.

In corporate news, Biovail shares jumped $2.14, or 9.93%, to $23.70 after the company announced it’s tripling its dividend and shutting down its U.S. sales force.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange index fell 16.68, or 0.59%, to 2,817.66.

In New York, markets were marginally lower as some investors took some profits off the table after recent strong sessions.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.35 points, or 0.18%, to 12,309.25, the Nasdaq Composite index lost 6.52, or 0.27%, to 2,445.86, while the S&P 500 dipped 1.86, or 0.13%, to 1,412.90.