Toronto stocks finished higher on Friday as a late afternoon rally lifted tech and telecom shares. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 34 points to 6,487.13.

However, the highly anticipated speech by chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix did little to ease the uncertainty that has plagued the market. His report on Iraq left the Security Council divided over the necessity of war.

A favourable forecast from Dell Computer spurred investors to drive TSX tech stocks up 2.06%.

ATI Technologies rose 27¢ to $6.43, while Celestica climbed 44¢ to $16.60.

Telecom shares rose 1.6% as market players gave a thumbs-up to some smaller-than expected corporate losses.

Rogers Wireless rose 63¢ to $15.50 after shrinking its fourth-quarter loss, while No. 2 phone company Telus climbed 52¢ to $16.90 after also showing a loss but better-than-expected operating earnings.

Gold stocks slid tipped 2.88% lower, following bullion prices that are now barely above US$350 per ounce after hitting US$384 less than two weeks ago.

Barrick Gold Corp. fell 87¢ to $24, while Placer Dome Inc. shed 59¢ to $15.99.

Toronto volume was light at147.7 million shares worth $1.71 billion. Market momentum was positive, as 545 issues advanced, while 496 declined.

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 8.36 at 1,095.49.

In New York, U.S. stocks also rallied late. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 158.93 points to 7,908.80, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 32.73 points to finish at 1,310.17. The S&P 500 index rose 17.50 to 834.87.

U.S. exchanges will be closed on Monday for Presidents’ Day.