Toronto stocks finished just above water Monday, while U.S. markets enjoyed solid gains. The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 0.49 points on the day to close at 7,990.77.

The 0.9% gain in the energy index led all rising sectors as commodity prices soared following a major winter storm in the U.S. Northeast.

Petro-Canada gained $1.26 to $59.50 and Canadian Natural Resources jumped $1 to $60.95. Both stocks hit 52-week highs.

Gold-mining stocks retreated 0.71% despite slightly higher bullion prices in New York.

Bema Gold fell 19¢ to $5.14, and Glamis Gold dropped 35¢ to $22.30.

Information technology stocks fell 0.9%. Nortel dropped 6¢ to $5.58.

Industrial stocks fell 1%. CNR fell $1.97 to $76.35; Bombardier slipped 2¢ to $5.02.

Stressgen Bio shares fell 4¢ to $1.89 after its CFO quit to take a job with an unnamed biotech company.

Among financial issues, Sun Life Financial fell 35¢ to $32.70. The company said the SEC has told it to expect enforcement action against one of its American mutual fund subsidiaries.

TSX volume was about 260 million shares. Market sentiment was negative as 699 issues declined and 564 advanced.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 13.16 points to 1,720.89.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 102.59 points to 9,965.27, ahead of tomorrow’s decision on U.S .interest rates.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 11.10 points to 1948.90. The S&P 500 rose 7.80 points to close at 1,069,30.

Traders are expecting the U.S. Federal Reserve to hold interest rates at 45-year lows when it makes a scheduled policy announcement Tuesday afternoon.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.40¢ to US77.02¢ as the U.S. greenback continued to weaken.