Toronto stocks rallied Monday, tearing through the 12,000-point plateau, powered ahead by a booming resource sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 142.91, or 1.20%, to 12,080.53, hitting a new all-time record close.

The benchmark index’s previous record close was 11,952.14, recorded on February 1.

Volume on the senior exchange was 334 million shares.

Seven of the 10 TSX main sub-groups closed higher, with the energy group rising 2.57%

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 26¢ to settle at $65.11, after trading as high as US$66.25 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on supply worries over continued tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.

Petro Canada advanced $2.15, or 3.81%, to $58.59, while UTS Energy Corp. gained $1.01, or 14.96%, to $7.76.

The materials sector gained 1.68%

Gold for April delivery closed up $2.70 at US$574.30 an ounce as investors on global instability worries.
Bema Gold Corp. moved up 17¢, or 3.56%, to $4.94.

Blue Pearl Mining was the big winner on the session, lifting $1.60, or 74.77%, to $3.74 after the company announced late Friday good drilling results at its molybdenum deposit near Smithers, B.C.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said the value of construction permits rose to a record $60.7 billion in 2005, a 9.3% increase from the previous year.

The Canadian dollar slipped a tenth of a cent to US87.22¢ in a light volume day.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index put in a strong performance Monday. It closed up 34.86 points, or 1.36%, to 2,606.49.

In New York, markets were flat as global tensions kept investors cautious and careful.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.65 points to 10,798.27, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 3.78 points to 2,258.80, while the S&P 500 index was up 0.99 of a point to 1,265.02.