Toronto stocks advanced Tuesday buoyed by gains in mining and energy issues. The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 66.08 points, or 0.72%, at 9,270.13.

All but one of the 10 main TSX groups made gains, with information technology the leader at 2.52%.

Nortel, the market’s most active issue on Tuesday, gained 6¢, or 1.48%, to $4.12 after reporting results for the first half of 2004 that were in line with market expectations.

Research In Motion Ltd. shares jumped $5.13, or 5.81%, to $93.45 after a recent selloff.

The mining group, part of the materials subindex, rose 3.2% after nickel producer Falconbridge reported its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled.

Falconbridge shares added $1.57, or 5.16%, to finish at $32.00.

Despite a drop in the price of U.S. light crude fell to just over $47 a barrel, energy stocks rose 1.41%.

Suncor Energy rose $1.49, or 3.75%, to $41.20, making it one of the group’s biggest gainers. Ivanhoe Energy added 6¢, or 2.27%, to $2.70.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 9.30 points, or 0.52%, to 1,805.09.

In New York, U.S. stocks got a boost from American Express after the Dow component said it will spin off its personal finance unit.

Shares of American Express, the credit card and travel services company, spurted more than 6 percent after the company said the move would improve its profitability. The stock was the biggest contributor to the Dow.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , also helped the blue chips, rising more than 3 percent after Bear Stearns upgraded the company from “peer perform” to “outperform”.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 62 points, or 0.59%, at 10,551.94. The S&P 500 was up 8.14 points, or 0.69%, at 1,189.41. The Nasdaq composite index was up 6.29 points, or 0.30%, at 2,068.70.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of U.S. manufacturing activity slipped to 56.4 in January from 57.3 in December, below forecasts for a dip to 57.0.