Toronto stocks ended marginally higher Friday, as investors reacted cautiously to conflicting economic indicators out of the U.S. and anticipated central bank decisions on both sides of the border.

The S&P/TSX composite index ticked up 3.21, or 0.02%, to 13,846.41.

Half of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up on the session.

The energy sector fell 0.23%, as the price of oil retreated off of yesterday’s record high.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 99¢ to US$79.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Husky Energy Inc. gained 25¢, or 0.60%, to $41.93.

The materials index moved ahead 0.03%, but the gold sub-sector fell 0.26%.

Gold futures fell 10¢ to close at US$717.80 an ounce.

Goldcorp Inc. declined 5¢, or 0.18%, to $28.18.

Information technology group gained 1.06%.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.21 of a cent to US97.04¢.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange drifted lower 2.72, or 0.10%, to 2,755.53.

In New York, markets moved up modestly as investors reacted to a strong consumer confidence report that took some of the sting out of recent negative economic news.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 17.64, or 0.13%, to 13,442.52, the Nasdaq composite index moved up 1.12, or 0.04%, to 2,602.18 and the S&P500 gained 0.30 of a point, or 0.02%, to 1,484.25.