Toronto stocks closed higher heading into the Labour Day long weekend on an advance in the energy sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 71.32 points to 12,145.07.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, with energy rising 0.98% despite a drop in the price of oil. Light, sweet crude for October delivery lost $1.07 to close at US$69.19 a barrel

In energy, Petro Canada rose $1.05, or 2.22%, to close at $48.25.

The December futures contract for gold fell US$1.60 to US$632.60 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.02¢ to close at US90.49¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index increased 36.53 to close at 2,761.29.

In New York, markets ended with a big advance after the U.S. Labor Department reported a gain of 128,000 jobs in August.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 83.00 at 11,464.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 9.41 points to 2,193.16, and the S&P 500 Index added 7.19 points to 1,311.01.