TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index ended slightly higher yesterday, led by rising financial issues, but broader investor concerns about the recovery rattled global equities and kept TSX gains in check.

The TSX held above water on strength in banking, with Royal Bank of Canada up 1.7 percent at C$51.25, and Bank of Montreal higher by 1.3 percent at C$58.33. National Bank of Canada climbed two percent to C$61.22.

The broader financials group, up 0.5 percent, led the way higher as investors bought beaten-down shares, which had fallen in recent weeks the back of concerns about the global recovery. More recently, some bank issues tumbled after reporting weak trading results, said Rick Meslin, head of Canadian equities at UBS.

"People are a little constructive now, suggesting that future quarters might have some big ticket items, that the poor performance of trading revenue probably isn't going to be much of a factor in the next quarter," said Mr. Meslin.

However, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia , both to report results this week, slipped by about 0.2 percent.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished the session up 15.83 points, or 0.13 percent, at 11,895.55.

Earlier, the index rose to 11,952.64, its strongest level since June 22.

Half of Toronto's 10 main groups were higher.

Toronto's performance contrasted with US stock indexes, which sank on investor wariness about the economic recovery, and global stocks were also lower

Investors were cautious ahead of closely watched US data on manufacturing, services and August non-farm payrolls due later in the week, which are expected to confirm the economy is continuing to slow.

In Canada, today's release of second-quarter gross domestic product data may help seal expectations of whether the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates on September 8. Those broader economic worries capped gains on the TSX's resource-heavy index yesterday.

"There's no confidence in the market right now. It's low volume. Investors seem to be sitting back and waiting for direction," said Mr. Meslin.

Elsewhere, Research In Motion finished the day largely flat, up just 0.04 percent at C$48.37, as the BlackBerry maker averted a threatened ban on its services in India.

RIM will give India access to secure BlackBerry data beginning on September 1, a government source said on Monday, leading New Delhi to put off a decision on whether to shut down the smartphone.