Toronto stocks closed higher Thursday even as investors moved to lock in profits from the recent rally. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 14.49 points to finish at 7,594.85.

Technology and gold stocks made gains, while health-care and telecoms stocks were the leading decliners.

The technology sector rose 2.11% boosted by Nortel Networks. Nortel was the most heavily traded stock and closed up 38¢ at $5.23. On Wednesday, the telecoms equipment supplier won a $1-billion multi-year contract in the United States.

Celestica shares climbed 5.7%.

The gold subindex rose 0.87% with a several issues including Barrick Gold and Iamgold, both up more than 1%.

The health-care group was down 1.03%, as biotech shares retreated.

Hemosol fell 7¢ to 87¢. Angiotech fell $3.29 to $54.21, and Dimethaid Research slipped 7¢ to $1.08.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 0.77 points to 1,324.57.

On Wall Street, technology stocks lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq to for the seventh straight session. The Nasdaq composite index gained 16.08 points to 1,868.98.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.44 points to 9,587.90, while the S&P 500 was up 1.7 points at 1,027.97.

The Canadian dollar climbed to a two-month high as the U.S. currency was pushed down by disappointing weekly jobs figures.

The loonie finished at US72.98¢, up sharply from US72.46¢ at Wednesday’s close.