Markets in Canada finished in the black today, but not by much. In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index added 4.17 points to close at 8,472.18.

Telecommunication stocks were strong in the wake of last week’s meeting between Nortel chief Bill Owens and Cisco Systems head John Chambers to consider a partnership. The TSX information technology index climbed 0.61%.

Financial stocks rode the positive wave caused by the $14 billion bank merger in the U.S., involving Wachovia Corp. acquiring SouthTrust Corp. The financial services index edged up 0.07%.

Energy stocks also had a good day, rising 0.08%. This followed news that A newly acquired unit of Encana Corp. has sold some oil and gas properties in New Mexico for U.S.$243 million.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index also finished on a slightly positive note. It gained 0.40 points to 1,562.05.

In the U.S., investors are staying cautious before next week’s Federal Reserve meeting, where is expected that interest rates will be raised from their 43-year low. This coupled with concern about the transfer of power in Iraq overcame the positive sentiment over the Wachovia-SouthTrust merger.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 44.35 points to 10,372.06. The S&P 500 Index closed down 4.70 points at 1,130.32. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index finished the day down 12.35 points at 1,974.38.