Stocks in Toronto ended a difficult week with a gain, albeit a small one. The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index closed up 23.16 points, or 0.35%, at 6,569.49. As investors continue to be uncertain about equity investing, the country’s principal equity index stands at 0.7% lower after the end of their first trading month of 2003.

Financial issues helped to boost the index into the black today. It closed up 0.7%. Next were the telecoms, which rose 1.6%. In all, seven of the TSX’s sub-indexes closed higher.

Manulife Financial Corp. closed up 47¢, or 1.4%, at $34.99, as it continues to pursue a $6 billion hostile takeover bid for Canada Life Financial Corp. Rival, Sun Life Financial, added 60¢, or 2%, rising to $27.50. Toronto-Dominion Bank added 20¢, or 0.6%, climbing to $32.18.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index closed up 11.34 at 1117.15.Trading was heavy on a volume of 39.8 million shares worth 14.3 million dollars, with 254 advances, 206 declines and 611 issues unchanged.

Wall Street liker Bay Street is down this month, plagued by war worries. Overall, in January, the Nasdaq composite index fell 1.1%. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 3.5% and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 2.7%.

But, today, south of the 49th parallel, the blue chips led a broad gain today. The markets were buoyed by good news of growth in manufacturing in the U.S. midwest, as well as top grade earnings from Walt Disney Co.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 108.68 points, or 1.37%, to 8,053.81. The S & P added 11.09 points, or 1.31%, at 855.70. The Nasdaq composite index was the only contrarian in the pack. It fell 1.43 points, or 0.11%, to 1,320.92.