After a volatile day for equity markets, the Toronto Stock Exchange finished with modest gains on Wednesday, boosted by materials and financial stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 28.83 points, or 0.3%, to close at 11,046.93.

The materials group advanced by 0.8% on Wednesday.

Shares of fertilizer giant Agrium Inc. rose 2.9% after it reported better-than-expected second-quarter net income of US$370 million. Agrium shares added $1.49 to close at $52.17.

Also higher was Potash Corp., up $4.75, or 4.6%, to $107.50.

Shares of Inmet Mining Corp. gained 4% to $49.05 and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. rose 2.4% to $75.95.

The sub-gold index gave back 0.6% on Wednesday as gold futures finished lower. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery fell US$3.30, or 0.3%, to US$964.20 an ounce.

Shares of Yamana Gold Inc. fell 2.6% to $10.30 and Goldcorp Inc. slipped nearly 1% to $41.26.

The financials group gained 0.6% on Wednesday.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s stock gained $1.55, or 2.3%, to close at $69.30.

Also higher was Laurentian Bank of Canada, up 2.2% to $36.96, Canadian Western Bank, up 3.9% to $18.80.

Lower for the day was CI Financial, down 2.4% to $21.15.

The energy group retreated by 0.6% on Wednesday as oil futures fell. Crude for September delivery dropped US45¢ to US$70.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Husky Energy Inc. fell 1.1% to $31.45 and shares of Crescent Point Energy Corp. dropped $1.23, or 3.4%, to $34.74.

Shares of Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. surged 6.1% after it announced that it had agreed to merge with TriStar Oil & Gas Ltd. to create a new publicly listed company called PetroBakken Energy Ltd. Petrobank’s stock finished at $35.77, up $2.04, while Tristar shares soared $2.60, or 22.6%, to $14.11.

Also higher were shares of Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., up 4.8% to $12.46.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index was flat on Wednesday, finishing at 1,194.99.

The Canadian dollar continued to climb, adding more than a third of a cent to close at US93.45¢.

Market indices in New York finished the day lower, after new data showed that the private sector shed more jobs than economists had expected in July.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 39.22 points, or 0.4%, to end at 9,280.97.

The S&P 500 index slipped 2.93 points, or 0.3%, to close at 1,002.72.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 18.26 points, or 0.9%, to finish at 1,993.05.