Toronto's main stock market index closed slightly higher on Tuesday as an uptick in bullion prices helped push up gold producers, but the move higher was offset by the drag of some falling blue chips. The index's gold producing sub-sector was up 1.2 percent with Barrick Gold, the world's biggest gold miner, adding 1.46 percent to C$40.91.

Also among top advancers were gold miners Goldcorp, up 1.69 percent at C$41.60, and Agnico-Eagle, up 2.01 percent at C$59.98. The index's materials group managed to gain 0.66 percent, mostly on the gold support, but it was pressured by individual names such as fertiliser producer Potash Corp, which dropped after UBS cut its share-price target.

Potash Corp recovered some of its losses by day's end, down 0.5 percent at C$118.58. The health-care sector made significant gains, up 2.43 percent, largely on the back of a brokerage upgrade on Biovail. The country's largest publicly traded pharmaceutical company rose 1.84 percent to C$16.06 after Deustche Bank raised its share-price target.

Heavyweight decliners were an assortment of blue chip names. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion fell 1 percent to C$67.41, while Bank of Nova Scotia lost 0.43 percent to C$46.29. Pipeline company Enbridge fell 1 percent to C$46.68. The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished up 12.88 points, or 0.11 percent, at 11,763.42. It moved in a subdued range of about 55 points on slightly below-average volume.

Copyright Reuters, 2010