Toronto stocks finished higher Wednesday, as the rising price of oil and a strong day in the materials sector led the wider market forward.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 62.21, or 0.52%, to 11,969.86.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups were up.

The materials index moved up 1.98%, while the gold sub-index was up 1.50%.

On the strength of rising aluminum prices, Alcan Inc. reported a quarterly profit of US$455 million, or US$1.21 a share, up from US$191 million, or US52¢ a share a year earlier. The stock shot up $3.62, or 7.30%, to $53.22.

The October gold contract rose $5.20 to US$657.60 an ounce.

Goldcorp Inc. gained 93¢, or 2.75%, to $34.76.

The energy group advanced 0.81%. Light sweet crude for September delivery rose 90¢ to US$75.81 a barrel.

EnCana Corp. gained 45¢, or 0.74%, to $61.40.

The information technology index gained 1.65%.

Nortel Networks rose 8¢, or 3.60%, to $2.30.

The Canadian dollar closed at US88.73¢, up 0.29 of a cent.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index moved up 23.32, or 0.89%, to 2,650.44.

In New York, strong corporate earnings news overshadowed continuing investor uncertainty over the direction of inflation and interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average lifted 74.20 points to 11,199.93. The Nasdaq composite index gained 16.82 to 2,078.81 and the S&P 500 moved up 7.63 at 1,278.55.