Toronto stocks closed slightly lower on Friday, reversing earlier gains sparked by bargain-hunters.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 5.21 points, or 0.05%, at 11,207.95.

Six of the TSX index’s 10 main groups ended lower, with the utilities sector leading the slide with a 1.2% drop.

The oil and gas sector dropped 0.5%.

Crude oil prices rose 38¢ to US$69.88 a barrel on mixed signals from Iran over a package of incentives offered by the West for it to give up uranium enrichment.

Shell Canada lost 40¢, or 1%, to close at $38.85.

The technology group closed up 0.6%, followed by the financials at 0.4%.

CIBC rose $1.0, or 1.3%, to finish at $76.88.

GMP Capital Trust said it struck a deal to acquire private-equity firm EdgeStone Capital Partners LP for $62 million plus stock. GMP Capital Trust fell 75¢ to $22.50.

The gold group, part of the materials sector, gained 0.7%, with GoldCorp Inc. up 94¢, or 3.1%, at $31.

Gold futures rose $11.40 to US$581.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the Nymex, amid optimism about U.S. economic growth.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 28.64 points, or 1.12%, to close at 2,579.93.

The Canadian dollar fell by three-quarters of a cent after China took moves to slow its economy, something that could lead to less demand for Canadian commodities.

The loonie closed at US89.09 cents. That was down 0.76 cents from Thursday’s close.

In News York, U.S. stocks slipped after strong gains in the previous two sessions, as a warning from a Federal Reserve official about inflation gave investors more reason to think the Fed will keep raising interest rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 0.64 of a point, or 0.01%, to end at 11,014.55. The S&P 500 Index declined 4.62 points, or 0.37%, at 1,251.54. The Nasdaq composite index fell 14.20 points, or 0.66%, to 2,129.95.

For the week, the Dow rose 1.13%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.24% and the S&P 500 declined by a marginal 0.06%.