Toronto stocks finished slightly lower on Friday. The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 13.94 points to 6,553.89.

Volume was a brisk 210.89 million shares traded, valued in total at $2.62 billion. Market momentum was slightly negative, as declining issues outnumbered advancers 568 to 508.

Six of the 10 TSX subgroups finished lower on Friday, though a 0.98% rise in the heavily weighted financials sector protected the broader index from steeper losses.

Bank of Nova Scotia gained $1.69 to $48.74, while Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce advanced 35¢ to $44.85.

The information technology sector shook off negative news from Research In Motion to climb 0.11%. RIM shares took a hit after a U.S. jury ruled it must pay $23.1 million in a patent infringement suit. RIM finished down $1.66 at $22.20.

ATI Technologies fell 19¢to $12.19 after a downgrade from UBS Warburg.

Shares of food retailers fell after Wal-Mart Canada said it would open fourt-to-six Sam’s Club warehouse outlets in Canada.

Loblaw Cos. fell $2.95 to $55.15, while Sobeys Inc. sank $1.43 to $37.82. Overall, the consumer staples sector ended down 2.18%.

TransAlta fell 78¢to $17.95, after surprising investors with plans to shut a big, but aging, power plant, cancel an equipment order and push up repair schedules to weather up to five more years of weak electricity markets.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange slipped 0.32 point to 945.40.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 40.31 points at 8,804.84 after jumping 222 points Thursday.

The Nasdaq eked out a 1.19-point gain on the day, closing at 1,468.74 after gaining 48 points Thursday and finishing at its best level in more than four months.

The S&P 500 rose 1.05 points to 934.81.

The Canadian dollar ended at US63.37¢, a touch lower than US63.38¢ at Thursday’s North American close.