Toronto stocks rose slightly Monday, thanks the heavyweight energy sector, which benefited from a $5 billion takeover bid for Primewest Energy Trust.

The S&P/TSX composite index surged as much as 100 points in the early going but closed up 18.21 points, or 0.1%, at 13,958.28, with only three of its 10 main sectors higher.

Weighing on the index was a steep 1% fall in the consumer staples sector, as well as the materials group, which changed direction midway through the session to close down 0.3%.

Oil and gas issues slipped after the opening bell, but recovered after Primewest said Abu Dhabi National National Energy Co will buy it in a $5 billion cash deal.

The announcement sparked a rally among trusts, particularly in the oil and gas sector, which added 0.3%.

Primewest closed up $6.37, or 32%, at $26.31. Penn West Energy Trust meanwhile, rose $1.03, or 3.5%, to $30.38, and Talisman Energy climbed 25¢, or 1.3%, to $19.

U.S. crude oil settled down 67¢ at US$80.95 a barrel, and natural gas futures were slightly higher.

Gold and most base metals prices also rose, but producers in the materials sector mostly sank, including Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, down $2.23, or 2.2%, at $100.78.

The gold-mining subsector slipped 0.3%.

Meridian Gold agreed to an improved takeover offer from Yamana Gold worth about $3.5 billion. Meridian was down 59¢, or 1.7%, at $33.57, and Yamana was off 45¢, or 3.6%, at $12.10.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index moved up 16.2 points to 2,834.44.

The Canadian dollar was off 0.08 of cent to US99.83¢ after trading at US$1.0015 earlier in the morning.

In New York, stocks slipped as concern about the impact of the housing slump and credit squeeze hurt shares of financial companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 24.47 points, or 0.18%, at 13,795.72. The S&P 500 was down 4.53 points, or 0.30%, at 1,521.22. The Nasdaq composite index was down 1.20 points, or 0.04%, at 2,670.02.

A labor strike against General Motors Corp. caused shares of the world’s biggest automaker to pare gains.