Toronto stocks slipped in afternoon trading to close lower Thursday as gains in technology issues failed to offset declines in other sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 16.06 points, or 0.18%, at 8,971.54. Volume was 241 million shares.

Tech issues extended Wednesday’s 2.8% rise, climbing 0.80%.

Nortel Networks rose 1.52% to $4.01 and Sierra Wireless rose 2.8% to $23.79. Research In Motion was up 1% at $105.15.

The materials group was down 0.16%, thanks to slumping gold stocks, which slipped 0.80%.

One of the few advancers in the materials group was Ivanhoe Mines. It jumped 2.49% to $8.66. The mining exploration company said earlier on Thursday it believes it has found the world’s highest-grade copper mineralization in its Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project in Mongolia.

Energy issues rose 0.46% as oil prices stabilized just under the US$47 a barrel mark, after U.S. government data showed supplies were still 16% below 2003 levels.

Precision Drilling climbed almost 2% to $72.95.

The heavily weighted financial services group slipped 0.65%.

Fund company stocks were lower following a report in today’s Globe and Mail that four big mutual fund companies have agreed to pay about $200 million in restitution for questionable trading practices.

Three of the companies, Investors Group Inc., CI Fund Management Inc., AGF Management Ltd. are publicly traded. The firms have been in talks with the Ontario Securities Commission for several weeks.

Investors concentrated their punishment on IGM Financial, the parent company of Investors Group. IGM shares fell 2% to $34.90.

CI shares slipped 2¢ to $16.55, while AGF shares gave up 1¢ to finish at $16.26.

Among individual stocks, Biovail dropped another 73¢ to $17.99. The drop came on top of Wednesday’s per-share loss of $1.88 after the pharmaceutical company said that rival Anchen Pharmaceuticals is seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of the company’s key anti-depressant, Wellbutrin XL.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 6.28 points, or 0.37%, at 1,686.40, on volume of 87 million shares.

On Wall Street, stocks rose modestly in uninspired trading Thursday as investors looked past a mix of economic data and falling profit forecasts from Google Inc. and Applied Materials Inc.

While Applied Materials’ forecasts were understandable given high inventories in semiconductors, Google’s warning that its current strong profits were unsustainable in future quarters surprised some investors.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 22.98 points or 0.22%, at 10,572.55. The S&P 500 edged up1.61 points, or 0.14%, to 1,183.55. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 4.60 points, or 0.22%, to end at 2,104.28.

The Conference Board’s index of leading indicators fell 0.3% the fifth straight monthly decline.

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits dipped to 334,000 last week, matching economists’ forecasts.