Toronto stocks closed Friday with minor gains after trading in the red for much of the day. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 6.07 points, or 0.06%, at 10,678.65.

Volume was a heavy 308.7 million shares worth $5.2 billion.

The index fell as low as 10,577.00, earlier in the day.

Eight of the 10 TSX main groups advanced, with consumer staples climbing 1.49%.

Convenience store operator Aliment Couche-Tard was up 80¢, or 3.76%, at $22.05, while drugstore chain Jean Coutu Group was up 50¢, or 3.61%, at $14.35.

Tech issues climbed 1.01%, followed by health-care, stocks, which gained 0.62%. The influential financial sector rose 0.59%.

Countering the gains was a 1.61% fall by energy issues, which were dragged lower on profit-taking and by softer oil prices

Crude slipped more than $1 as mild weather at the start of the winter heating season buffered supplies, settling at $60.58 a barrel in New York.

In economic news, Statistics Canada reported the unemployment rate dropped to 6.6%, from 6.7% in September.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 15.15 points, or 0.75%, to end at 2,030.63.

In New York, a late rally gave Wall Street a modest advance Friday after a lackluster employment report left investors wondering about the pace of economic growth and inflation.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 8.17, or 0.08%, to 10,530.76.

Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 0.20, or 0.02%, at 1,220.14, and the Nasdaq composite index added 9.21, or 0.43%, to 2,169.43.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.23%, the S&P 500 climbed 1.81% and the Nasdaq jumped 3.81%.

The U.S. Labor Department said U.S. employers added 56,000 jobs last month, half the 100,000 increase projected by economists.