The Toronto stock market finished higher Thursday as gains in mining and technology shares offset losses in the financials group.

The S&P/TSX composite rose 17.19 points, or 0.13%, to close at 13,407.01.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups ended higher.

Research in Motion saw big gains after reporting quarterly results. RIM stock moved up 4.43%, to close at $106.52, helping to boost the technology group 0.59%.

The financials group fell 0.99%, as North American financial stocks were rattled by a larger-than-expected loss from U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns.

All of the major banks declined. TD fell $1.20, or 1.7%, to $68.85.

The materials group added 1.3 %, pulled higher by Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, which was up
$7.95, or 6.4%, at $131.96.

The gold subsector was off 0.6% as gold prices slipped on the firmer U.S. dollar. Gold for February delivery slipped US$2.20, closing at US$803.20 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Yamana Gold fell 33¢, or 2.8%, to $11.61.

Among individual stocks, Timminco stock gained 18.93% to close at $18.53 after yesterday’s news that the company’s Becancour Silicon subsidiary agreed to supply about 4,400 tonnes of solar grade silicon over five years to an unnamed solar cell manufacturer.

Akela Pharma dropped 14.29%, closing at $3.30, after announcing it would not go ahead with its U.S. public offering due to unfavourable market conditions.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index added 22.75 points, or 0.88%, to end the session at 2,624.23.

The Canadian dollar hit parity again and closed at US$1.00, up 0.34 of a cent. The loonie also found a little fame today when it was named Time magazine’s top Canadian newsmaker of the year.

In New York, U.S. markets ended higher despite Bear Stearns’ announcement that it will see its first ever quarterly loss after writedowns for mortgage holdings and investment slowdowns.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 38.37 points, or 0.29%, shutting down at 13,245.64. The S&P 500 also rose, closing up 7.12 points, or 0.49% to settle at 1,460.12.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 39.85 points, or 1.53%, closing at 2,640.86.