North American stock markets closed mixed Thursday after a volatile session that began with a pair of terrorist bombings in Istanbul. The S&P/TSX composite index posted a small gain of 8.69 points at 7,809.78.

Market momentum was negative with decliners topping advancers 635 to 594, as 288 million shares changed hands.

Gains in the heavily weighted financial services and energy indices kept the TSX in the black

Energy issues gained 0.63% and financial issues rose 0.29%.

Canadian Natural Resources rose 59¢ to $57.60. EnCana gained 44¢ to $46.80.

Compton Petroleum gained 34¢ to $5.78. The company reports its third-quarter earnings results later Thursday.

The TSX gold index fell 1.1% as bullion prices eased $1.20 US an ounce to $393.70 US. Placer Dome fell 52¢ to $22.16.

Technology stocks fell 1.12%. Nortel fell 5¢ to $5.30. Late Wednesday, it announced details of the previously announced restatements of its financial reports going back to 2000. The restatements left Nortel with a total of $122 million less in revenue over that period, while losses were reduced by $505 million.

Shares of ATI Technology fell 70 to close at $18.90, while Zarlink Semiconductor lost 13¢ to close at $3.85.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 11.25 points to 1,614.61.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell as concerns over security after deadly explosions in Turkey outweighed investors’ confidence in the U.S. economy.

Stocks showed modest gains after U.S. jobless claims dropped more than expected, and the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators showed stronger U.S. economic growth in October.

However, stocks slid back later in the day as investors sold shares they thought were overvalued as fears of attacks around the globe resurfaced.

The Dow Jones industrial fell 71.04 points to close at 9,619.42. The S&P 500 shed 8.79 points to 1,033.65. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 17.73 points to finish at 1,881.92.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 of cent to close at US76.82¢.