Toronto stocks moved higher Monday as bank stocks gained strength and energy shares pared earlier losses.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 98.50 points, or 1.1% to close at 9,285.62,

Among financials, Royal Bank of Canada rose 2.6%, Bank of Nova Scotia rose 1.1% and Manulife Financial Corp. rose 2.6%.

Energy shares clawed their way back from steep losses at the beginning of the trading session.

Talisman Energy Inc. fell 0.8% and Canadian Oil Sands Trust fell 0.4% after the price of crude oil to US$50.05 a barrel, down $2.19.

Shares of Canwest Global Communications fell 7¢ to 25¢. Canwest has another debt deadline looming Tuesday, by which time it must pay US$30.4 million in interest to holders of its US8% senior subordinated notes. The payment was originally due March 15, but the company missed it.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 11.89 points, or 1.23%, to finish at 980.86.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.49¢ to close at US82.01¢.

In New York, markets closed flat.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 8,057.81, down 25.57 points or 0.3%. The broader S&P 500 closed at 858.73, up 2.17 points or 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite index rose just 0.77 of a point, or 0.05% , to 1,653.31.

After the bell, Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs posted higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, and said it plans to sell US$5 billion worth of common shares to help pay back government bailout funds.

IE