TORONTO - The Toronto stock market closed slightly higher Friday on very low volume with New York stock and commodity markets closed as American traders get an early start on the Christmas holiday.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 11.96 points to 13,383.16 while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 12.04 points to 2,187.4.

The TSX will reopen for trading on Wednesday.

The Canadian dollar moved higher against the greenback, up 0.24 of a cent to 99.4 cents US.

The energy sector was positive with Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) up 10 cents to $44.70 while Talisman Energy (TSX:TLM) climbed 11 cents to $22.11.

Consumer discretionary stocks advanced with Quebecor Inc. (TSX:QBR.B) ahead 23 cents to $37.80.

Mining stocks were mixed with Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) down seven cents to $7.03, HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) rose 30 cents to $17.54 while Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) improved by 10 cents to $18.78.

The TSX had a positive end to the second last trading week of the year, up about 1.37 per cent while the Dow industrials rose 0.7 per cent.

The Toronto market's main index is set to close out 2010 trading up more than 13 per cent, led by strong gains in mining stocks amid growing demand from China and other emerging markets.

The resource-heavy TSX has been supported by energy stocks as oil traded at levels not seen since the fall of 2008 while copper closed at an all time high of US$4.28 a pound on Tuesday.

Many analysts think the elements are in place for further solid gains in 2011 as the global economy continues to dig out from recession.

"Things are looking good, it won't all be straight up," said Chris King, portfolio manager at Morgan, Meighen and Associates.

"Equities are cheap, the economy is recovering and we have massive amounts of stimulus in the system, which all points to higher equity values because corporate profits are growing and corporate balance sheets have record levels of cash going back to 1959."

Overseas, trading generally was light with many markets closed for Christmas.

In Europe, France's CAC-40 fell 0.28 per cent while Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.21 per cent a day after it broke through the 6,000 mark for the first time since the summer of 2008.

Germany's DAX was closed until Monday.

As a result, trading was sluggish though a downgrade of Portugal's credit rating from Fitch Ratings weighed on sentiment.

Fitch said it was reducing its rating on the country's debt by one notch to A+ from AA- and warned that further downgrades may be in the offing by maintaining its negative outlook. The agency said it was getting increasingly worried over the country's ability to raise money in the markets to finance its hefty borrowings

Earlier in Asia, the Shanghai Composite index declined 0.7 per cent and the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller, second market fell 1.8 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 0.3 per cent lower while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average lost 0.6 per cent.

In corporate news, Quebec-based Desjardin Financial Group is trying to buy Western Financial Group (TSX:WES) in a bid to increase its influence in Western Canada.

The financial group announced Thursday it was making an all-cash offer of $443 million or $4.15 per share for Western, the largest insurance and financial services retailer in Western Canada. Western Financial shares surged $1.71 to $4.16.

Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (TSX:MFI) will comply with a request from disgruntled shareholder West Face Capital to hold a vote on the activist hedge fund's proposals to revamp it's board, but it will not call a special meeting to do so.

West Face, which owns an 11.4 per cent stake in Maple Leaf is unhappy with the makeup of the current board, which recently authorized a billion-dollar plan to reorganize the company hard hit by a deadly Listeria outbreak at one of its plants in 2008 and the impact of a rising loonie. Maple Leaf shares added two cents to $11.39.