Toronto stocks ended essentially flat Tuesday, as losses in financials and technology sector mostly offset a winning day in the energy group.

The S&P/TSX composite index ticked up 2.95, or 0.03%, to 10,363.74, after touching a high of 10,428.17 during intraday trading.

Volume on the senior exchange was 235 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with only the energy sector, up 2.44%, and consumer staples, up 0.54%, ending in positive territory.

Crude futures closed up $2.12, or 3.5%, at US$62.44 a barrel. Calgary-based PetroKazakhstan rose 69¢, or 1.28%, to $54.45.

EnCana Corp. announced Gwyn Morgan will step down as CEO at the end of the year to be replace by current COO Randall Eresman. Its shares rose $1.29, or 2.16%, to $61.00.

Gold for December delivery closed up $7.70, or 1.7%, at US$474.70 an ounce. Barrick Gold rose 43¢, or 1.61%, to $27.06.

Teck Cominco reported late yesterday a third-quarter profit of $405 million, more than three times last year’s earnings. Its shares rose 40¢, or 0.81%, to $49.95 .

Inco Ltd.’s reported a third-quarter profit of US$62 million from US$142 million last year. Its shares dropped 18¢, or 0.38%, to $47.80.

The financials group was off 0.72%. Toronto-Dominion Bank was off 52¢, or 0.94%, to $55.05.

The technology fell 2.41%. Market stalwart Nortel Networks fell 16¢, or 3.86%, to $3.99, while Research in Motion fell $2.71, or 4.51%, to $57.40.

Rogers reported a third-quarter profit of $48.9 million, up modestly from last year, while revenue was $2.04 billion, up 43%. Shares fell $1.15, or 2.37%, to $47.40.

In economic news, Statistics Canada reported the annual inflation rate rose to 3.4% in September, from 2.6% in August. The core rate, which excludes energy and food, was a much more encouraging 1.7%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 11.91 points, or 0.60%, to 2,005.13.

In New York, rising oil prices plus indications that consumer confidence is falling worked against the markets’ favour.

The Dow Jones composite index fell 7.13 points, or 0.07%, to 10,377.87, the S&P 500 index dropped 2.84, or 0.24%, to 1,196.54, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 6.38, or 0.3%, to 2,109.45.