Toronto stocks were off slightly Wednesday, after a triple-digit drop in the previous session, on continued weakness among financials issues and in the telecommunications sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 9.60, or 0.08%, to 12,167.70. In yesterday’s session, the market lost 112.40 or 0.91%.

Five, or half, of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the financials index losing 0.89%.

The Royal Bank of Canada lost 76¢, or 1.58%, to $47.36.

The telecommunications sector was off 1.15%.

Rogers Communications Inc lost $1.35, or 3.01%, to $ 43.51.

The materials sector was up 0.82%, while the gold index, a sub-set of materials, was up 1.41%.

Gold futures ended higher on worries over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Bullion lifted $1.90 at US$601.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The energy index improved a modest 0.11%, despite a fall in the price of oil.

The benchmark May crude contract finished down 36¢ at US$68.62 a barrel.

The Canadian dollar was off 0.17 of a cent to US87.24¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index gained 13.30, or 0.44%, to 3,004.70.

U.S. stocks ended higher on good corporate news from the likes of Boeing, despite continued geopolitical stability worries and interest rates.

The Dow industrials closed up 40.34 points at 11,129.97, off a high of 11,144.14, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 4.33 points to 2,314.68, while the S&P 500 Index gained 1.55 point to 1,288.12.