Oil prices were the again the catalyst Thursday, sending Bay Street to another solid double-digit gain, but overshadowing good economic information on Wall Street.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was up 59.46 points or 0.61% at 9859.53, while the TSX Venture Exchange rose 19.91 points or 0.99% to 2025.30. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 21.06 points or 0.19% at 10833.03. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.39 of a point or 0.03% to 1210.47 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 9.10 or 0.44% at 2058.40.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.28 of a cent at US80.40¢.

Oil prices remained a significant driver of the Toronto markets. After rising as high as US$55.20 intraday, the April crude contract closed up 52¢ at US$53.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The latest jump pushed the TSX energy sector up 2.27%, with Talisman Energy Inc. (up $1.12 or 2.67% to $43.12) and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (up $2.57 or 3.65% to $72.98) among the bigger movers.

The TSX financial group was ahead 0.42%. But gold stocks were down 0.41%.

The materials sector also closed higher — up 0.61% — as Alcan Inc. paced gains in the diversified metals and mining group. Alcan was up 65¢ or 1.34% to $49.

On the TSX most-active list was Bombardier Inc., whose shares 17% or 6.18% to $2.92 on reports the company has already selected Montreal over three competing sites to assemble a proposed new passenger jet. Bombardier denied the report. Stelco Inc. gained 83¢ or more than 26% to $4.00 on reports that the Russian firm OAO Severstal was still looking to bid for the steelmaker.

On Wall Street, the rise in oil prices combined with trouble in the chip sector to stall the market’s advance, overshadowing upbeat retail sales and the upward revision of worker productivity numbers.

While the day’s economic data was encouraging, analysts said the markets were in a bit of a holding pattern ahead of the government’s monthly report on jobs creation, due Friday.

Some of the pressure on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which has lagged the other indexes since the first of the year, came from the volatile chip sector. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which was down 1.23% in late trading, has either fallen or advanced at least 1 percent each of the last five sessions, reflecting a great deal of uncertainty among tech investors.

Meanwhile, the favorable revision on worker productivity eased inflation worries and helped bonds rally briefly, though the soaring cost of oil tempered the gains. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was steady at 4.38%, the dollar was mixed against other major currencies and gold fell.

Investors were also reassured by robust retail sales, which showed consumers shopping enthusiastically in February. Among the companies that beat Wall Street sales forecasts were Wal-Mart Stores Inc., whose shares gained 87¢ to US$52.82; Target Corp., which had its shares climb 86¢ to US$52.73; and Talbots Inc., up $2.47, at US$31.84. Sales at Limited Brands Inc. disappointed the market however, and its shares slid 31¢ to US$24.17.