Toronto stocks closed with modest gains Thursday, despite being held back most of the session by falling commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 25.76 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 12,056.01.

Overall, seven of the 10 main TSX groups ended higher.

Gold stocks ended 1.8% lower as bullion prices dropped alongside sliding oil prices. Spot gold ended at US$615.10, down from $627 on Wednesday.

Goldcorp was down 83¢, or 2.5%, at $31.91.

Energy shares finished down 1% as September crude fell for a fourth straight session.

U.S. crude oil futures for September delivery slid $1.83 to settle at US$70.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Suncor Energy Inc. was $2.04 lower, or 2.3%, at $88.40.

The financials jumped 1.8% as expectations of further interest rate increases waned.

Royal Bank of Canada led the way, ending up $1.05, or 2.2%, at $49.42.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index dipped 12.66 points, or 0.48%, to close at 2,602.27.

The Canadian dollar finished at US89.09¢, down from US89.47¢ at yesterday’s close.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks closed moderately higher on Thursday as the drop in oil prices countered a plummet in Merck & Co. following negative legal news surrounding the drugmaker’s Vioxx product.

Shares of Merck fell 5.7%, or $2.35, to US$38.83 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.84 points, or 0.07%, to end at 11,334.96, while the S&P 500 Index gained 2.05 points, or 0.16%, to finish at 1,297.48. The Nasdaq composite index advanced 8.07 points, or 0.38%, to close at 2,157.61.