Toronto stocks climbed for a second day Thursday as recently beaten up resources shares rallied.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 115.61 points, or 0.93%, to close at 12,612.76.

Crude oil continued its decline, falling US$1.71 to close at US$100.87 a barrel.

Gold fell to US$741 an ounce, down US$21.50.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan led the gainers, up 5%. Research In Motion gained 4.5%, while Canadian Natural Resources gained 3.7%.

Barrick Gold led the losers, off 3.44%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index continued its losing streak, falling 32.91 points, or 2.06%, to 1,563,82.

The Canadian dropped to its lowest level in 15 months today after Canada’s trade surplus narrowed in July.

The loonie bottomed out at US92.44¢ before rising slightly to close at US92.89¢, down 0.57 of a cent from Wednesday’s close.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose on Thursday as a report by the Wall Street Journal that Bank of America is in talks to buy embattled investment bank Lehman Brothers boosted financial shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 164.79 points, or 1.46% , to end at 11,433.71. The S&P 500 gained 17.01 points, or 1.38%, to end at 1,249.05. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 29.52 points, or 1.32%, to close at 2,258.22.

IE