Canada's main stock index made a small gain on Tuesday, boosted by a surge in Great Canadian Gaming Corp after it won a gaming contract and helped by rises among some miners, major banks and other financial stocks.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index finished up just 1.71 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 16,133.35, losing steam in afternoon trade after a broad rally had pushed it close to the all-time high hit the prior session.

Seven of its 10 main groups ended higher, although there were slightly more decliners than advancers overall.

Great Canadian Gaming (GC.TO) jumped 15.0 per cent to $34.37 after it and Clairvest Group Inc said they had won a contract to operate gaming venues in the Toronto area.

Both the materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, and the energy group added 0.2 per cent, while the financials group gained 0.1 per cent. Those three sectors combined account for almost two-thirds of the index's weight.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO) rose one per cent to $121.65, while insurer Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO) added 0.5 per cent to $26.82.

Sandstorm Gold Ltd (SSL.TO) rose 0.8 per cent to $6 after agreeing to buy a royalty stake in a mine in Burkina Faso.