Toronto stocks closed with modest gains Wednesday in a lightly traded session. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 18.26 points to 7,372.28.

The information technology group topped all sectors with a 1.7% gain, while the heavily weighted financial index added 0.5%.

Technology stocks, rallied after chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc. gave optimistic comments for overall information technology spending.

In Toronto, ATI Technologies rose 55¢ to $16.92, while Cognos climbed $1.62 to close at $38.72.

In other news, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has ordered the grounding of all 222 of Bombardier’s Learjet 45 business jets because of deficient parts in the tail assembly. Bombardier shares closed up 2¢ at at $4.95.

Toronto volume was 206 million shares.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index advanced 7.04 points to 1,231.99.

In New York, stocks retreated from the previous day’s gains, as investors were spooked by a resurgence in bond yields that could choke off the economic recovery.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average fell 38.30 points to 9,271.76. The broader S&P 500 index fell 6.32 points, to 984.03. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.42 of a point to 1,686.59.

The Canadian dollar rebounded Wedanesday as the U.S. greenback lost ground despite strong U.S. retail sales data. The loonie ended the North American session at US72.49¢ up from US72.24¢ at Tuesday’s close.