Toronto stocks rallied Tuesday, breaking a streaking of five consecutive negative sessions, on the strength of gains in the energy and materials sectors.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 96.90 points, or 0.84%, to 11,616.39.

Volume on the senior exchange was 325 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups ended higher, including the energy group, which gained 0.49%.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell $1.67, or 2.7%, to US$59.57, its lowest close this year, despite continued instability worries arising from Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

EnCana Corp. gained 71¢, or 1.47%, to $47.75.

The materials sector gained 2.71%

The benchmark April contract ended up $6.80 at $548.90 an ounce.

Bema Gold Corp. gained 15¢, or 3.45%, to $4.50.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 18.79, or 0.77%, to 2,458.60.

In New York, a strong retail sales report and lower commodity prices fuelled a stock market surge.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 136.07 points to 11,028.39, its largest one-day point gain since Jan. 3. The Nasdaq Composite Index ended 22.36 points higher at 2,262.17, while the S&P 500 Index gained 12.67 points to 1,275.53.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales excluding autos were up 2.2% in January.