Stocks in Toronto closed higher today. Renewed interest in technology stocks offset a steep slide in gold issues. The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index closed up 69.14 points to 7,604.50.

Thirteen of the TSE 300’s 14 sub-indexes climbed higher, led by a 3.4% gain in the tech-heavy industrial products group, which offset a 5.8% drop in golds and precious minerals.

Nortel Networks Corp., a stock that make up more than 5% of the main index, closed the session up 86 Canadian cents, or 8.5 percent, at $10.93, while Research In Motion shares were up $1.36 at $37.16.

Gold stocks such as Barrick Gold and Franco Nevada Mining led the sector’s downfall after it gained nine percent in the previous week. Shares of Barrick finished the day down $2.05 – 6.7% – at C$28.45. Franco-Nevada fell $2.00, 6.3 percent, to $30.00.

Trading was heavy on the S&P/CDNX composite index – volume of 36.4 million shares worth 16.3 million dollars. There were 208 advances, 260 declines and 511 issues unchanged. The index closed up 8.57 at 1150.05.

The Canadian dollar rallied steadily today. It almost reached the crucial psychological US63¢ level, but fell short. The dollar ended at $1.5905 compared to the U.S. dollar, or US62.89¢, up from $1.5981, or US62.57¢ on Friday.

South of the border stocks rallied for the second straight session. Cyclical shares like DuPont climbed as investors positioned themselves for an anticipated economic recovery in the U.S. this year. Qualcomm Inc. and Tyco International Ltd. bounced back after taking a battering over accounting concerns.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 140.54 points, up 1.44% to 9,884.78. The NASDAQ composite index added 27.78 points to 1,846.66. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 15.72 points to 1,111.94.