Toronto stocks moved ahead Tuesday, powered by continued strength in the resource sectors and by the ever-surging Canadian dollar.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 97.19 points, or 0.68%, to 14,370.56.

Half of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up on the session

The energy index gained 1.69%.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery shot up $2.72 to US$96.70 a barrel on forecasts of lower than expected U.S. inventory levels.

Imperial Oil Ltd. gained $2.46, or 4.74%, to $54.35.

The materials group gained 1.72%, while the gold sub-group rose 2.08%.

Gold futures rose $12.60 to end at US$823.40 an ounce on continued U.S. dollar weakness.

Goldcorp Inc. gained 75¢, or 2.25%, to $34.15.

The Canadian dollar rose sharply against the U.S. greenback. The loonie closed up 1.34¢ at US108.52¢.

The S&P.TSX Venture Exchange gained 20.42, or 0.65%, to 3,173.64.

In New York, markets moved up as investors reacted to strong gains by energy firms.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 117.54 points, or 0.87%, to 13,660.94, the Nasdaq composite index gained 30.00, or 1.07%, to 2,825.18, and the S&P 500 moved up 18.10, or 1.20%, to 1,520.27.