Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market eked out a small gain as the financial sector fell amid weaker earnings from two big Canadian banks and investors appeared hesitant to make any major moves in advance of Friday’s employment data.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 15.18 points to 13,163.53, after soaring nearly 200 points Wednesday to close at a post-recession high. The TSX Venture exchange was up 8.58 points at 2,095.74.

The financial sector sank furthest, falling 0.8 per cent after TD Bank (TSX:TD) and CIBC (TSX:CM) both reported a slip in fourth-quarter profits from a year earlier.

The Canadian dollar gained 1.28 cents to 99.61 cents US as the greenback weakened against the euro and other major currencies.

The January crude contract added $1.25 to US$88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. markets posted bigger gains Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 106.63 points at 11,362.41 and the Nasdaq composite index gained 29.92 points to 2,579.35. The S&P 500 index was up 15.46 points at 1,221.53.