Toronto stocks inched higher Wednesday as strength in gold stocks offset losses in the health care sector. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 8.09 points to close at 7,569.30.

Gold stocks rose 1.2%, despite a US$2 drop in December gold futures to $375.80 US an ounce.

Placer Dome rose 37¢ to $18.35. Barrick Gold gained 18¢ to $25.02.

Health care’s 3.8% drop made it the worst performing sector on the TSX, as Biovail continued to tumble.

Biovail shares fell $5.20 to $33.55 after a Banc of America Securities analyst unsheathed the rarely seen “sell” rating when initiating coverage on the stock.

Angiotech Pharma fell $2.70 to $57.30, adding to the weakness in health care.

Among active issues, Nortel gained 8¢ to $6.09. Alcan shares rose 98¢ to $53.40.

Open Text shares gained $1.96 to $53.56 after it announced a two-for-one stock split.

Other stocks in the news included Pivotal. Its shares fell 10¢ to $2.36 as its board recommended that shareholders accept a US$1.78 per share cash offer from a venture capital group.

Sierra Wireless shares gained 85¢ to $23 after it launched a new wireless “smartphone” that combines a cellphone with a personal digital assistant

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 5.10 points to close at 1,398.35.

South of the border, U.S. markets slipped, despite better-than-expected earnings from Dow component Alcoa.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.71 points to close at 9,630.90. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 14.07 points to 1,893.78. The S&P 500 index declined 5.48 to close at 1,033.77.

The Canadian dollar slipped back below the US75¢ barrier. The loonie ended the day down US0.11¢ to US74.99¢.