Gold and commodities kept Toronto markets steady Wednesday, while U.S. markets were hit by record oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 23.02 points, or 0.17%, at 13,750.55.

Six of the 10 major TSX groups dropped today.

The financials group sector closed down 1.2%, as Royal Bank of Canada shares lost 41¢, or 0.86%, to close at $47.04. As well, TD Bank Financial shares fell 97¢, or 1.53%, to close at $62.40.

Canaccord Capital Inc. shares rose 93¢, or 8.99%, to close at $11.28 on the news it is buying back about $138 million in ABCP from small investors.

The energy group, however, made gains, closing up 2.21%, as crude oil for May delivery went up US$2.37, or 2.2%, to close at US$110.87 on New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the day it hit it a new high of US$112.21 a barrel.

Encana Corp. shares gained $1.93, or 2.45%, to close at $80.55 and Suncor Energy Inc. shares closed up $3.86, or 3.66%, at $109.23.

Meanwhile, the materials group closed up 0.83%, as the gold sub-index jumped 2.52%.

Gold for June delivery jumped US$19.50 to end at US$937.50 an ounce on the Nymex.

Kinross Gold Corp. shares gained 70¢, or 3%, to close at $24.04. As well, Barrick Gold Corp. shares made gains, rising $1.36, or 3.12%, to close at $44.96.

The base metals sector lost 1.49%, as Eastern Platinum shares lost 4¢, or 1.36%, to end at $2.90 on a heavy day of trading.

In individual stocks, Metallica Resources Inc. shares gained 14¢, or 2.13%, to end at $6.72, after it reported preliminary Q1 earnings of $18.4 million.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 15.97 points, or 0.63%, at 2561.87.

The Canadian dollar closed out at US98.14¢, down 0.48 of a cent from yesterday¹s close.

In New York, markets took a hit as concern over the economy was fuelled by rising record oil prices and negative forecasts from United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS).

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 49.18 points, or 0.39%, to end at 12,527.26. The S&P 500 fell 11.05 points, or 0.81%, to close at 1,354.49.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed down 26.64 points, or 1.13%, at 2,322.12.