Toronto stocks closed mixed Tuesday as the S&P/TSX composite index lost 0.03 points to finish at 8,380.34.

Energy and financial stocks were the lone bright spots on the as most other sectors traded lower.

The energy index rose 0.7% as a cold snap returned to the U.S. northeast and forecasts call for it to last until the weekend. Canadian Natural Resources climbed $1.13 to $68.88; Talisman Energy rose 56¢ to $74.20.

Financial stocks advanced 0.6%, led by a big gain by TD. TD shares rose $1.57 to close at $44.62 after it confirmed it was in talks with E*Trade to merge the U.S. branch of its Waterhouse brokerage unit with E*Trade.

The materials sector, home to big name gold producers, dropped 1.6%. The gold subsector slipped 2.4%.

Placer Dome fell 71¢ to $22.59, while Goldcorp slipped 54¢ to $18.16.

Base metal stocks also showed weakness. Alcan fell 98¢ to $58.08; Teck-Cominco dropped $1.22 to $20.84; Inco dropped $1.42 to $47.98.

Shares in Dorel Industries surged $5 to close at $40 after it announced the purchase of Pacific Cycle, the maker of Schwinn bicycles, for US$310 million.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composites index fell 21.60 points to 1,795.38.

On Wall Street, U.S. markets fell as investors awaited major earnings reports later in the week.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 58.00 points to close at 10.427.18.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite Index slipped 15.34 points to 2,096.44. The broader S&P 500 gave up 6.01 points to 1,121.22.

The Canadian dollar rose more 0.27¢ to finish at US78.63¢.