Toronto stocks rose toward the close Monday on thin volume following the Easter holiday. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 45.08 points at 6,570.76.

Volumes shrank to a trickle with European markets closed and many trading floors thinly staffed after the holiday weekend.

Gold-mining stocks showed the strongest gains, rising 2.95% as New York spot prices rose a sturdy US$6.30 to US$333.50 per ounce.

Kinross Gold climbed 31¢ to $9.46, and Placer Dome shares added 47¢ to $14.97.

Tech issues jumped 2.57%, as enthusiasm over a better-than expected slate of earnings reports.

Sierra Wireless climbed 67 ¢ to $6.42, while Nortel Networks Corp. gained 27¢ to $3.76.

Oil stocks rose in advance of the start of earnings season as soaring prices because of the Iraq war, civil unrest in Venezuela and a long winter have investors eager to share in substantially higher profits.

Petro-Canada advanced 86¢ to $48.44 and EnCana was up 99¢ at $48.35.

Toronto market volume was 134.4 million shares worth $1.43 billion. advances beat declines 604 to 427, with 220 unchanged.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange was up 3.7 at 1,049.87.

In New York, stocks fell in listless trading on ahead of an earnings flood later this week.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 8.33 points to 8,329.32. The S&P 500 was down 1.58 points at 892, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped 1.11 points, to 1,424.39.

In economic news, the U.S. Conference Board index of leading economic indicators lost 0.2 of a point last month to 110.6, pushed down by worries over higher oil prices, the war and potential terrorist attacks.

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.12 of a cent to US68.76¢.