Toronto stocks moved higher Monday, fuelled almost entirely by a surging energy sector, riding crude oil’s biggest one-day jump in price ever.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 34.14, or 0.31%, to 11,024.73.

Volume was 316 million shares.

The Canadian dollar reached a 13 1/2-year high, closing at 85.57 U.S. cents, up 0.73 cent, after hitting an intraday high of 85.74 U.S. cents.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose US$4.39, or 7%, to settle at US$67.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Worries that tropical storm Rita could hit U.S. oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico later this week caused the big leap in price.

Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down on the day, but the energy group was up 2.29%.

Oil and gas company EnCana Corp. gained $2.09, or 3.48%, to $62.10, while Ultra Petroleum lifted $2.18, or 4.85%, to $47.15.

Acclaim Energy and StarPoint announced a plan to merge, creating a larger energy trust that would seek listing on the New York stock exchange. On the Toronto’s senior exchange, Acclaim units gained $1.15, or 5.88%, to $20.70, while StarPoint gained $1.74, or 7.53%, to $24.84.

The information technology sector dropped 1.04%

Nortel Networks gained 11 cents, or 3.01%, to 3.77 after the company announced its deal to spin off manufacturing plants to Flextronics International Ltd. won’t include its facility in Northern Ireland.

ATI Technologies fell 27 cents, or 1.97%, to $13.45.

The S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 23.28, or 1.14%, to 2,069.80.

In New York, markets fell on the higher price of crude and uncertainty before tomorrow’s rate announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 85.74 points, or 0.81%, to close at 10,556.20; the S&P500 index was down 6.96 points, or 0.56%, at 1,230.95. The Nasdaq composite Index was down 15.09 points, or 0.70%, at 2,141.07.