Toronto stocks advanced Friday afternoon as as gains in techs and bank stocks overcame sagging oil and gas shares.

The TSE 300 finished 49.90 points higher at 7,432.43.

Market volume was light as U.S. markets closed early following Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday. 95.4 million shares changed hands. Market momentum was positive as advances stepped on declines 531 to 468.

Overall, 13 of the 14 TSE sub-indices rose during the session. The tech-heavy industrial group gained 1.63%.

Nortel Networks Corp. 39¢ to $12.99. Electronics manufacturer C-MAC Industries led the group’s net gainers, rising $1.80 to $36.15.

Financial services stocks rose 1.45%, led by CIBC. It rose $1.45, or 2.7%, to $54.40, as investors applauded the bank’s acquisiton of Merrill Lynch Canada’s retail brokerage business. Royal Bank of Canada added 93¢ to close at $48.80.

Energy stocks were generally weak on low oil prices as the OPEC and Russia argue over production cuts..

The oil and gas sub-index fell1.96%, led down by Pancanadian Energy, which dropped 3.8% to close at $39.60.


Trading was active on the Canadian Venture Exchange. Volume was 31.1 million shares, with 211 advances and137. The CDNX Index closed up 18.58 at 3,096.01

In New York, stocks finished with decent gains on the first major shopping day of the holiday season. The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 125 points to 9,959.7.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 28 points to close the week at 1,903.. The S&P 500 added 13.3 points of its own, finishing the day at 1,150. Airlines, networkers, techs, biotechs, financials and retailers led the rally on Wall Street today.