Stocks in Toronto finished higher today, propelled by a surge among gold stocks. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index finished up 79.21 points at 7,835.90.

Gold stocks soared 4.92% to a 12-month high. Bullion broke through the $300 level for the first time in more than a month. The TSE’s gold sub-index has risen 25% this year. Barrick Gold Corp. rose $1.30 to $30.05 and Placer Dome Inc. added $1.20 to close at $19.90.

Overall, market strength was broad. Ten of the TSE’s 14 sub-indices climbed, today. Oil and gas stocks rose 1.22%. Petro-Canada rose $1.42 to $41.66. Canadian Natural Resources added $1.41 to finish the day at $51.91.

Telecommunications stocks were among the losers, today. Nortel Networks Corp. fell 22¢ to $6.78. BCE Inc. slipped 18¢ to $28.00, falling for the ninth consecutive trading day. Shaw Communications Inc. lost 86¢ to $28.49, after reporting a larger than expected second-quarter loss on Monday.

The S&P/CDNX Composite Index closed down 4.10 at 1185.42, today. Trading was heavy, with a volume of 43.6 million shares worth 20.0 million dollars changing hands. There were 192 advances, 204 declines and 622 unchanged issues.

South of the border, stocks rose today. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 73.55 points to 10,426.91. The NASDAQ composite index edged up 2.58 points to 1,826.75.