TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index closed slightly higher yesterday as bargain-hunters emerged late in the day to rescue it from a sharp decline.

The index had dropped 200 points earlier following comments by US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that sparked worries over the health of the US economy.

But bargain-hunting and hopes that the Fed will cut interest rates again pulled the market higher just before the close.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 10.41 points at 14,128.59 with six sectors higher and two flat.

BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion was the biggest decliner by weight due to worries it would be hit by the drop in demand from US banks that was cited by Cisco Systems on Wednesday.

RIM closed C$6.42, or 5.2 percent, lower at C$117.10 after falling as much as 12 percent earlier in the day.

That helped drag the lightweight tech sector down 1.3 percent. Elsewhere in the sector, Nortel Networks fell eight Canadian cents, or 0.5 percent, to C$17.02.

Financials ended the day higher, reversing a fall that was spurred by Bernanke's comments that the US economy faces risks on both the growth and inflation fronts, which fueled concern over the continuing impact of the credit squeeze.

The sector was up 0.2 percent. Royal Bank of Canada rose 22 Canadian cents, or 0.4 percent, to C$51.85, and National Bank of Canada was up 65 Canadian cents, or 1.3 percent, at C$52.79.

Heavyweight energy shares finished 0.4 percent higher with Suncor Energy up C$1.05, or 1 percent, at C$104.39, and Petro-Canada up 13 Canadian cents, or 0.2 percent, at C$55.68.

The materials group was up on news of miner BHP Billiton's $140-billion takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto . Rio Tinto rejected the approach.

Barrick Gold rose 37 Canadian cents, or 0.9 percent, to C$43.15, and Goldcorp gained three Canadian cents, or 0.01 percent, to C$33.68.