Toronto stocks soared Tuesday in a broad-based rally led by energy and resource issues.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 205.10 points, or 1.6%, at 12,910.87. The TSX finished 2006 at 12,908.39.

All but one of the TSX index’s 10 main groups were higher, led by a 3% advance in the influential energy sector and a 3.9% rise in the resource-laden materials group.

Oil prices shot back up above US$55 a barrel Tuesday as cold weather hit the northeastern United States and U.S. President George W. Bush revealed plans to increase the his country’s petroleum reserves.

EnCana Corp.rose $1.32, or 2.4%, to $55.98 while Shell Canada Ltd. gained 34¢, or 0.8%, to $45.25 after parent Royal Dutch Shell Plc raised its bid for the 22% of Shell Canada it does not already own to $8.7 billion.

Gold prices rose as a sharp decline in the U.S. dollar and firmer oil prices attracted investors.

Barrick Gold Corp. climbed $1.20, or 3.6%, to $34.63, while Kinross Gold Corp. gained 52¢, or 3.6%, to $15.10.

Aluminum producer Alcan Inc. climbed $2.15, or 3.8%, to $58.36.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite indexmoved ahead 30.92 points to 2,877.80.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.19 of a cent to US84.74¢.

In trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of light, sweet crude for March delivery jumped $2.46, or 4.7%, to settle at US$55.04 a barrel.

As part of his state of the union address to be delivered Tuesday night, Bush was expected to ask Congress to double the capacity of the strategic petroleum reserve.

In New York, U.S. stocks gained on Tuesday as the spike in crude oil prices lifted shares of energy companies.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 56.64 points, or 0.45%, to end at 12,533.80. The S&P 500 was up 5.04 points, or 0.35%, to finish at 1,427.99. The Nasdaq composite index was up just 0.34 of a point, or 0.01%, to close at 2,431.41.