Toronto stocks edged forward Thursday, as a weaker energy sector largely offset a big merger of two mining giants and strong earnings news from Research in Motion.

The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 8.14, or 0.07%, to 11,255.39.

Volume on the senior exchange was 287 million shares.

Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups, with the materials sector gaining 1.14%

Barrick Gold Corp. and Placer Dome Inc. announced a $12.1 billion friendly merger. Also, as part of the deal, Goldcorp Inc. buys a number of Placer assets for US$1.49 billion.

Barrick shares fell 9¢, or 0.28%, to $31.66, Placer Dome fell 33¢, or 1.25%, to $26.07, and Goldcorp added $1.10, or 4.75%, to $24.25.

Gold for February delivery closed at US$505 an ounce, up $9.70, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The energy sector was off 0.43%. A barrel of light crude settled at US$58.32, edging up 4¢, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EnCana Corp. fell 96¢, or 1.76%, to $53.63.

The information technology sector moved up 2.73%.

RIM reported sales of its BlackBerry products helped lift profit 33% and revenue 53%. Shares jumped up $7.41, or 10.22%, to $79.91.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 21.58 points, or 1.01%, to 2,164.10.

The Canadian dollar finished at US85.69¢, up from US85.63¢, at Wednesday’s close.

In New York, good economic news boosted the market, though trading was light in the run up to the holidays.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 55.71 points, or 0.51%, to 10,889.44, the S&P 500 index added 5.33, or 0.42%, to 1,268.12, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 14.83, or 0.66%, to 2,246.49.