TORONTO - Toronto's main stock index closed moderately lower yesterday as resource shares fell on weaker oil and metal prices, offsetting gains in financials after Toronto-Dominion Bank reported a profit surge.

Shares of TD spiked almost two percent at C$69.71 after Canada's second-largest bank reported revenue rose to a record. After a series of upside surprises from every Canadian bank reporting so far except Royal Bank of Canada, TD's results were enough for investors to bet the sector had put the financial crisis behind it.

"With banks generally beating expectations quite easily, those stocks are all up today, helping to offset the losses in commodities," said Jennifer Radman, vice-president and associate portfolio manager at Caldwell Investments.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 27.88 points, or 0.24 percent, at 11,824.97.

Among the heavyweight decliners, material issues were hit by sliding bullion and copper prices, with Barrick Gold, the world's biggest gold producer, down 1.2 percent at C$40.94, and Goldcorp losing 1.9 percent at C$40.66.

Miner Teck Resources also dropped down 1.7 percent at C$40.47, while First Quantum Minerals fell 2.6 percent at C$80.38.

Most energy shares retreated after oil slumped nearly one percent, among them Talisman Energy, which lost 1.4 percent at C$19.03.

After the closing bell, investors were scrutinising the federal budget for clues on how Ottawa will tackle its mounting deficit.

The budget, unveiled yesterday, promised to "further improve the regulatory review process for large energy projects" to ensure procedures were timely and predictable.

"People will be paying attention to that just hoping that the deficits won't be too big and that there's some sort of clarity on how we're going to handle them," said Ms Radman.

Ms Radman added investor confidence was improving despite today's dip in Canadian equity markets.

"We're not hearing much talk about a double-dip anymore whereas that was the case a few months back, so I think all that helps to make the mood in the market generally more positive," she said.