Toronto stocks closed higher on Thursday, as investors shrugged off weak economic data.

The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index finished with a gain of 31.13 points at 7,738.11, with support from the gold and utilities sectors.

Buying was curtailed by a report that showed that a decrease in the output of motor vehicles pushed Canada’s manufacturing shipments down 0.7% to $41.7 billion in March from the month before, compared with a 0.6% rise forecast by market analysts.

All 10 TSX subgroups finished with gains. Gold issues rose 1.35%, as bullion pushed above $310 per ounce, continuing to benefit from a weaker U.S. dollar.

TD Bank slipped 49¢ to $40 after reporting that quarterly profits plunged to $132 million, from $359 million a year ago. TD blamed weaker capital markets and loans to the troubled telecommunications industry.

The gold sector finished up 1.35% as as Agnico-Eagle Mines rose 65¢to $23.32, while Goldcorp advanced 55¢ to $28.15.

Utilities gained 1.1%, with Enbridge 92¢ higher at $47.82 and TransCanada Pipelines ahead 46¢ to $23.65.

The energy sector climbed 0.59%. Hurricane Hydrocarbons climbed 50¢ to $24 and Husky Energy added 24¢ to $17.

The information technology sector rose 0.45% as Nortel Networks gained 13¢ to $3.99, but Celestica was down $1.03 at $49.91.

The health-care sector finished flat, but Biovail was down $1.18 to $58.70.

Financial planning company Assante reported a first-quarter profit of $5.3 million, over a year-earlier loss of $1.9 million. Its shares were down 9¢ to $8.91.

Toronto volume was 177.19 million shares as advancers beat decliners 565 to 500, with 208 unchanged.

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.85 points to 1,167.98.

In New York, stocks ended with modest gains Thursday but weaker than-expected economic data limited some of the enthusiasm ahead of Dell’s earnings report.

Dell reported earnings after the close and beat first-quarter expectations by a penny.

New jobless claims in the United States rose in the latest week, staying above the 400,000 mark, suggesting the economy is having trouble supporting job growth.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished with a gain of 45.53 points to 10,289.21. The Nasdaq gained 4.88 points at 1,730.44, and the S&P 500 added 7.16 points to 1,098.23.

The Canadian dollar by inched up US0.21¢ to US64.38¢.