Toronto stocks ended lower Tuesday, as a poor day in technology stocks offset gains in the energy sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 31.36, or 0.27%, to 11,689.61.

Volume on the senior exchange was 381 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the information technology group falling 2.12%.

Nortel Networks gave up 13¢, or 3.45%, to $3.64, while Research in Motion lost $1.41, or 1.76%, to $78.83.

The telecommunications sector was off 2.60%.

BCE Inc. lost 86¢, or 2.99%, to $27.91.

The energy sector gained 1.53%. The benchmark February contract ended up $2.39, or 3.7% at US$66.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Ivanhoe Energy gained 99¢, or 55.31%, to $2.78 after the firm announced a successful test of its heavy oil upgrading system, one it says could be used in the Alberta oil sands.

The materials sector fell 0.71%. The benchmark February contract for gold ended down $2.70 at $554.30 an ounce, after hitting an intraday high of US$561.

Onex Corp. and real estate company First Pro Shopping Centres are said to be considering a bid for Hudson’s Bay Co. Onex fell 7¢, or 0.37%, to $19.04, while HBC lifted $1.08, or 7.37%, to $15.73.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished down 2.28 points, or 0.10%, to 2,392.26.

In New York, higher oil prices, mixed corporate earnings and broker earnings downgrades weighed down the markets.

The Dow Jones composite index ended down 63.55 points at 10,896.32, the Nasdaq fell 14.35 points to 2,302.69, while the S&P 500 Index dropped 4.68 points to 1,282.93.