Toronto stocks enjoyed another strong session Thursday, as investors continued to buy into the energy sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 86.93, or 0.82%, to 10,672.58. The senior exchange is up 3.5% so far this week.

Today’s trading volume was 259 million shares.

Nine of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, with the energy sector gaining 2.76%

Light, sweet crude for December delivery closed up $2.03 to settle at US$61.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as the market moved back into the commodity after recent drops brought it below the US$60 level.

Canadian Natural Resources added $1.76, or 3.24%, to $56.11.

The benchmark December gold contract closed down $2.70 at US$461.90 an ounce as the greenback strengthened against the Euro. Barrick Gold Corp. was down 41¢, or 1.61%, to $24.99.

The financial sector was up slightly, advancing 0.10%.

Manulife Financial Corp. reported net income of $746 million for the third quarter, an increase of 5% over a year earlier. The insurer gained 68¢, or 1.10%, to $62.63.

WestJet Airlines Inc. reported third-quarter earnings of $30.3 million, up 43.6% from last year. Shares in the discount airline gained 61¢, or 5.68%, to $11.35.

ACE Aviation Holdings, parent of Air Canada, soared $1.26 to $34.06 as the airline reported record load factors for October.


Brookfield Asset Management Inc., formerly Brascan Corp., reported a third-quarter profit of US$736 million US, up from US$133 million, after a big gain realized from the sale of its stake in Falconbridge Ltd. Brookfield shares gained 3¢ to $55.01.

Shares of Enbridge lost 38¢ to $35.81 as it reported a lower profit but raised its dividend.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 11.51, or 0.57%, to 2,015.48

In New York, positive economic news was dampened by surging energy prices.

The Dow Jones composite index gained 49.86 points to 10,522.59, the Nasdaq composite Index climbed 15.91 points to 2,160.22 while the S&P 500 Index was up 5.18 points at 1,219.94.

In U.S. economic news, outgoing Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress that the financial damage from a series of devastating hurricanes to the U.S. economy would likely prove transitory.