Toronto stocks lifted marginally Thursday, taking a break after the strong gains of the two previous sessions, as the energy sector retreated while technology stocks rallied.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 6.20, or 0.05%, to 11,507.68

Volume on the senior exchange was 261 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, but the energy group was off 1.05%.

A barrel of light crude was quoted at $62.79, down 63 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Canadian Natural Resources was among the biggest net losers of the session, dropping $1.08, or 1.85%, to $ 57.40.

The information technology sector gained 2.85%, following their U.S. peers, after upbeat sales growth outlooks for Cisco Systems Inc. and Xilinx Inc.

The telecommunications sector moved up 0.52%.

Nortel Networks gained 14¢, or 3.77%, to $3.85, while Manitoba Telecommunications Services gained $1.22, or 3.07%, to $40.98.

The Canadian dollar dropped sharply against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, falling 1.26 of a cent to close at US85.95¢.

Analysts saw the drop as investors taking profits following a recent run-up in the value of the loonie.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished down 9.54 points, or 0.42%, to 2,263.94.

In New York, markets were calm after the big run-ups of earlier this week.

The Dow Jones rose 2 points to 10,882.15, the S&P 500 rose 0.02 of a point, to 1,273.48, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 13.41 points, or 0.59%, to 2,276.87.