After the plunging Tuesday in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the Word Trade Center in New York, Toronto stocks avoided a further selloff on Thursday.

The TSE 300 opened low this morning, but battled back to post a modest gain on the day. The composite index advanced 53.50 points, or 0.76%, to close at 7,102.30.

Market volume was robust at 184 million shares. The heavy volume is somewhat surprising considering that the TSE suspended trading on all U.S. based interlisted stocks.

Golds and oils gave up Tuesday’s gains. The gold sub-index slipped 2%, while the oil and gas sub-index fell 3.7%,

Transportation stocks were beaten down earlier in the session, but recover this afternoon. The transportation sub-index closed up almost 2%.

Overall, 11 of the TSE’s 14 sub-indices finished the session higher. Pipelines and conglomerates both advanced more that 4%, while the bellwether industrial products and financial services sub-indices climbed more than 1%.

The top trader today was Anderson Exploration, which gained $1.94 to $39.44 on a volume of 14.7 million shares. Nortel Networks gained 49¢ to $8.05. Over eight million shares changed hands. Number three trader, Canadian Pacific advanced $2.95 to $55.95.

Among today’s losers, Bombardier slipped $1.40 to $17.10. PanCanadian Energy dropped $2.54 to $42.96. Rogers Wireless plummeted 34% on news of investors’ rebuff of Rogers’ takeover bid.

Stocks related to the WTC disaster closed lower. Air Canada plunged 18%, losing $1.08 to close at $4.92. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has dropped 15% to $27.25after it released a statement noting that it is uncertain how the travel and lodging industry will be affected by the disaster.

Manulife Financial slipped 25¢ to $41.00, but TD Bank, CI Fund Management and Bank of Montreal all posted gains.

Small caps stocks didn’t fare as well, although trading was active on the Canadian Venture Exchange. Volume was 31.1 million shares, with 69 advances, 87 declines and 708 issues unchanged. The CDNX Index closed down 45.27 at 2,893.34.