Stocks in Toronto rose for the third straight session today. Energy and gold stocks led issues helped the S&P/TSX composite index to its highest level since August. The index finished up 60.04 points, or 0.9%, at 6,724.30. Seven of the 10 TSX sub-groups finished higher.

A weak U.S. dollar and Middle East war worries drove up gold stocks up 2.8%. Energy stocks climbed 1.27% due to a three-week strike in Venezuela, which is depleting the country’s supplies and boosting crude prices. EnCana Corp. rose $1.40, or 2.9%, to $49.70 . Precision Drilling Corp. added $1.24, or 2.2%, to $57.98.

Meanwhile, U.S. gold prices hit a three-year high of $337 an ounce, today. That boosted Goldcorp 75¢, or 3.8%, to $20.50, Iamgold Corp. 24¢, or 3.5%, to $7.05, and Barrick Gold Corp. up 64¢, or 2.6%, to $25.62.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index closed up 9.49 at 1005.12. Trading was heavy on a volume of 43.3 million shares worth $13.6 million dollars, with 236 advances, 222 declines and 668 issues
unchanged.

South of the border, stocks rallied too. Retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. gained as the final shopping week before Christmas began. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 193.69 points, or 2.3%, to 8,627.40. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 20.93 points, or 2.35%, to 910.41. The Nasdaq composite index rose 37.98 points, or 2.79%, to 1,400.40.