Toronto stocks surged ahead Thursday, powered by a red-hot resource sector, as the S&P/TSX composite index approached the symbolic 10,000-point plateau.

The composite index finished up 102.14, or 1.04%, to close at 9,968.71, after hitting a peak of 9,923.29 during the session.

Volume on the senior exchange was 276 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX main groups closed higher, with the materials sector advancing a sizzling 2.71% and the energy group gaining 1.70%. The consumer staples category was down 0.59%.

U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery advanced $1.01 to settle at US$56.58 a barrel. On the TSX, Ivanhoe Energy Inc. rose 21¢, or 9.17%, to close at $2.50 on news the firm had discovered a new natural gas field in California.

Gold for August delivery spiked to a seven-week high, up $7 to US$437.90 an ounce. Kinross Gold Corp. rose 32¢, or 4.56%, to close at $7.34, while Glamis Gold Ltd. advanced 91¢, or 5.72%, to close $16.81.

Bank of Nova Scotia rose 21¢, or 0.53%, to finish at $40.01. The heavily weighted financial sector finished up 0.33%.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index closed up 17.86, or 1.05%, to finish 1,713.02.

In New York, stock markets moved up despite housing and unemployment numbers that gave investors scant indication on the likely direction of the economy or interest rates.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 12.28, or 0.12%, to 10,578.65, the tech heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 14.23, or 0.69%, to 2,089.15, and the broad based S&P 500 index advanced 4.35, or 0.36%, to finish 1,210.93

The U.S. housing market continues to be hot with construction of new homes rising 0.2% in May to over two million units. The sector is a cause for concern for some U.S. economists who believe “bubble” conditions might be developing.

The U.S. Labor Department said jobless claims were up 1,000 to 333,000 last week, which was in line with expectations.