Toronto stocks moved ahead Friday, as global instability caused spikes in resource issues and positive news for Research in Motion Inc. caused a leap in the information technology sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 72.00 points, or 0.61%, to 11,810.55, breaking a run of three negative sessions. Volume on the senior exchange was 293 million.

For the week, the benchmark stock index added 52.51 points on the week.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups advanced on the session, with the energy group rising 1.03%.

Light sweet crude for April delivery rose $2.37 to US$62.91 a barrel after Saudi police thwarted an attempted attack on oil production facilities, and on continuing uncertainty in Nigeria and Iran.

Suncor Energy Inc. gained $1.73, or 2%, to $88.39.

The worries over global energy supply stability caused a jump in the price of bullion, as investors sought safe harbour. Gold futures rose $6.60 to US$554.60 an ounce.

Glamis Gold Ltd. reported it would acquire Western Silver Corp. in a share exchange valued at $1.2 billion. Western Silver shot up $5.28, or 27.05%, to $24.80, while Glamis shares fell 98¢ to $33.75.

The tech sector moved ahead 3.28%. Research In Motion shares gained $4.97, or 6.21%, to $84.99 as the U.S. judge presiding over the NTP patent case postponed making a decision on an injunction request that would disrupt the BlackBerry service in the U.S.

Nortel Networks moved up 22¢, or 6.94%, to $3.39.

The Canadian dollar closed at US87.05¢, up 0.30 of a cent.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index moved up 39.58, or 1.57%, to 2,588.38.

In New York, markets were mixed as investors weighed negative economic news and rising oil prices against hopes that recent dips represented a buying opportunity.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 7.37 points at 11,061.85, the S&P 500 index rose 1.64 points to 1,289.43, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 7.72 points to 2,287.04.

The U.S. commerce department reported that orders for durable goods fell by 10.2% in January, a bigger decline than expected.

For the week, the Dow lost 53.45 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged up 4.68 points.