Toronto stocks ended higher Tuesday as oil prices spiked for the second straight session. The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 75.41 points, or 0.70%, to 10,892.75.

Volume on the senior exchange was 287 million shares.

Half of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, with the energy group rising 2.88%. On Monday, the sector gained 1.70%.

A barrel of light crude settled up $1.14 to US$58.84 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as low temperatures arrived in the Northeast U.S, raising worries of higher demand.

EnCana Corp. rose $1.76, or 3.34%, to $54.39 as it announced it will sell its 50% stake in the Chinook heavy-oil discovery off of Brazil to Norsk Hydro ASA for around US$350 million.

The information technology sector lost 1%.

ATI Technologies co-founder K.Y. Ho announced he is retiring as chairman and stepping down as a board director. ATI shares dropped 37¢, or 2.20%, to $16.43.

In earnings news, George Weston Ltd. said its third-quarter profit rose 17% on higher revenues and lower costs. Weston shares slipped 47¢ to $95.88.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.63 of a cent to US85.13¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 3.15 points , or 0.16%, to 2,034.69.

In New York, markets were up, despite higher energy costs, as the U.S. Federal Reserve released the minutes of its Nov. 1 meeting in which board members discussed a possible end to the central bank’s string of rate hikes.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 51.15 points, or 0.47%, to 10,871.43. The S&P 500 added 6.38, or 0.51%, to 1,261.23, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 11.89, or 0.53%, to 2,253.56.