Toronto stocks were moderately higher Friday. In afternoon trading the S&P/TSX composite index was up 20.23 points, or 0.22%, at 9,046.13. Volume was 144 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX index’s main groups were higher, led by a 0.88% rise in the materials group. Gold-mining stocks gained 0.66%.

Energy issues were 0.31%, pushed higher by winter supply worries.

As well, Husky Energy, which is controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Kashing, was up 3.75% to $34.62 on a report that a Chinese government agency was in talks to buy it.

Suncor Energy rose 0.95% to $41.54.

In the materials group, Cameco climbed 2.5%, to $118.20, while Teck Cominco rose 1.8%, to $36.00.

The industrials group dropped 0.76% as stocks in the group fell on news of rising the oil prices.

Among financial stocks, CIBC gained 0.58% to $71.60 despite a report that the bank CIBC has been faxing confidential information about hundreds of its customers to a scrap yard dealer in West Virginia for more than three years.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 15.49 points, or 0.90%, to 1,743.23, on volume of 68 million shares.

On Wall Street, markets ended the short session with mixed performance, after hovering around the unchanged mark.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up +1.92 at 10,522.23

The S&P 500 rose 0.89 of a point to 1,182.65. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.57 of a point to 2,101.97.