Toronto stocks finished a mixed trading day in the black, today. Bank stocks were the lifesavers this time. The Bank of Canada is expected to make a 25 basis-point rate cut on Tuesday, sparking interest in the big banks.

The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index climbed 32.28 points to 7,662.24, on a moderate volume of 92.9 million shares. Declining shares beat advancing issues 509 to 474, but nine of the TSE 300’s 14 sub-indexes finished higher.

All of Canada’s big banks ended higher. Toronto-Dominion Bank added $1.58 to $43.18. Bank of Nova Scotia hit a new 52-week high of $49.89 during the day, closing at $49.45. CIBC rose $1.00 to $56.00, after hitting a 52-week high of $56.50. Bank shares have provided consistent returns this year. The overall market is down 14%, but the financial services group has risen 5%.

Investors went for big players such as aerospace and transportation equipment maker Bombardier Inc., which closed up 53¢ at $20.65, and Nortel Networks Corp. which added 5¢ to $10.93.

On the down side, gold and precious minerals lost 1.42% and oil and gas slipped 0.94% as gold and oil prices slid lower.

South of the border, stocks fell. Buying stocks such as computer-chip makers pushed major market indexes into positive territory in the early afternoon, but those gains were lost by the end of the day.

The NASDAQ composite index fell 4.39 points to 1,912.41. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 40.82 points, falling to 10,382.35. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index slipped 5.72 points to 1,179.21.

These results contrast with major rallies on Friday when major market indexes posted their biggest gains in more than six weeks.

The latest economic data offered little inspiration. For example, in the U.S., the National Association of Realtors is reporting sales of existing homes fell 3% in July.