Toronto stocks were boosted by gold and resources issues Monday, avoiding a downdraft from U.S. markets. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 21.31 points to close at 7,135.96.

Gold stocks jumped 2.79%. as price of bullion rose above the US$350-an-ounce level.

Meridian Gold rose 82¢ to $16.51 while Agnico-Eagle Mineswas up 62¢ at $15.63.

In earnings news, Falconbridge shares were down 5¢ at $18.10, after reporting higher second-quarter earnings of $56 million or 30¢ a share, up from a profit of $38.5 million, or 20¢ a share, in the year-ago quarter.

The energy sector gained 0.86%, boosted by Petro-Canada up 86¢, to $55.20 and Suncor Energy. which gained 61¢, or 2.4%, to $26.05.

Among the session’s losers, the heavily weighted financial services group was off 0.13%, industrials lost 0.25%, health care fell 0.68% and the consumer discretionary group was down 0.45%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 4.56 points to 1,118.44.

In New York, stocks fell sharply, with technology stocks bearing the brunt of the selling, as investors moved to lock in profits from Friday’s rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average (ended with a drop of 91.46 points at 9,096.69, while the broader S&P 500 fell 14.52 points to 978.80. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 27.02 points to 1,681.48.

The Canadian dollar held its ground on Monday against a broadly weaker U.S. dollar as currency traders look ahead to Tuesday’s June Canadian inflation report. The loonie closed at US71.17¢, up from US71.06¢ at Friday’s close.