The Toronto stock market held onto a slight gain late Wednesday morning as mining stocks advanced and investors took in another solid report from the retail sector.

Investors also took in data showing a slight rise in inflation.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 21.1 points to 11,651.2 after Tuesday's 118-point jump left the main index at its highest level for 2009.

Statistics Canada said that inflation rose 0.1 per cent in October from a year earlier, the first annual increase in five months. The consumer price index was negative over that time because of record gasoline prices during mid-2008.

Food was a main driver of higher inflation, although less so than a few months ago. Food prices were 2.3 per cent higher in October than 12 months earlier.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.31 of a cent to 95.45 cents US.

In the U.S., the Labour Department reported that consumer prices rose 0.3 per cent last month, just above the 0.2 per cent predicted by economists.

The consumer staples sector was the strongest component, up 1.05 per cent. Shares in grocer Metro Inc. (TSX: MRU.A) rose $1.10 to $37.20 as the company reported quarterly net income of $84.4 million, up from year-ago profit of $72.5 million. Metro also increased its dividends by 10 per cent to 14 cents per share.

"It's their signal that things are stronger and they have an optimistic outlook," said Kate Warne, Canadian markets specialist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.

"The retail environment in Canada is better than what people were thinking it would be, given the recession and all the headlines we see about consumers not spending."

The results followed a well-received earnings report Tuesday from Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX: L) and its shares rose another 74 cents to $32.64 after gaining almost five per cent on Tuesday.

The energy sector was up slightly as the weak U.S. dollar helped send the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 58 cents to US$79.72 cents US.

The base metals sector was up 0.55 per cent with December copper up three cents to US$3.14 a pound. Sherritt International (TSX: S) gained 11 cents to $6.90.

The gold sector was down 0.8 per cent as the December bullion contract in New York climbed $10.10 from Tuesday's latest record close to US$1,149.50 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX: ABX) faded 82 cents to $46.66.

The tech sector was the weakest area on the TSX as Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX: RIM) gave back $1.60 to $62.93.

"People forget that the market for smart phones is growing very quickly," observed Warne.

"And they get very concerned that good news for Apple must be bad news for RIM (or vice-versa) forgetting that really at this point, the stock will move higher because lots of people are buying BlackBerries even if they're also buying competitors' phones."

The TSX Venture Exchange moved 12.48 points higher to 1,398.52.

New York indexes were lower as investors were disappointed with the latest reading on the health of the American housing sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved down 41.2 points to 10,396.2.

The Nasdaq composite index lost 16.25 points to 2,187.53 while the S&P 500 index was off 3.4 points to 1,106.9.

The Commerce Department says construction of new homes and apartments fell 10.6 per cent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,000, against the pace of 600,000 that economists had expected.

Joe Heider, president of Dawson Wealth Management in Cleveland, said the disappointing results "will push against what was a very bullish attitude on Wall Street."

Heider said investors were trying to determine whether the slowdown signalled weakness in the economy or a reluctance among builders to break ground when the future of a homebuyers' tax credit was uncertain. Lawmakers extended a tax credit for first-time homebuyers that was set to end this month through June.

In other corporate news, a weak lumber market combined with a deterioration in the newsprint sector caused Tembec (TSX: TMB) to post a quarterly net loss of $17 million or 17 cents per share, up from a $4 million loss a year ago. Its shares were down one cent to 97 cents.

Cosmos Capital Inc. has raised its hostile takeover offer for advertising agency Cossette Inc. (TSX: KOS) to match a friendly deal the company signed last week with a U.S. private equity fund. Cosmos said it would pay $7.87 per share for the shares of the advertising agency the company does not already own, matching the offer by Mill Road Capital LP that values the company at $131.5 million – and suggested it might go higher. Cossette shares ran up 20 cents to $8.

Seacliff Construction Corp. (TSX: SDC) shares surged $1.28 or 13.5 per cent to $10.76 after it said Tuesday it has signed a deal to buy the Broda Construction Group for $50 million in cash, shares and assumed liabilities.

Silicon metal producer Timminco Ltd. (TSX: TIM) announced Wednesday it will receive $10.6 million in financing from AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group to support its turnaround plan. Its shares rose 12 cents to $1.70.

In overseas trading, London's FTSE 100 index was up 0.15 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.46 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 headed 0.2 per cent higher.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 0.6 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.3 per cent.