The Toronto Stock Exchange advanced for a second consecutive session on Tuesday, led by strength in gold stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index added 56.27 points, or 0.5%, to close at 11,394.99.

The sub-gold index jumped 2.7% and the materials group gained 1.9%, as gold futures registered small gains. Gold for December delivery gained 30 cents to close at US$994.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares of Kinross Gold Corp. surged 4.8% after the company announced that it could increase its output by 57% if it proceeds with six projects in South America. Kinross shares closed at $23.43, up $1.08.

Also higher was Goldcorp Inc., up $1.47, or 3.5%, to $43.28, and Iamgold Corp., up 5.1% to $14.99.

Barrick Gold Corp. added $1.13, or 2.9%, to finish at $40.67.

Meanwhile, crude oil for November delivery lost 13 cents, or 0.2%, to end at US$66.71 a barrel on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The energy group on the TSX was flat for the day.

Gainers included Canadian Oil Sands Trust, up 1.7% to $30.00, and EnCana Corp., which gained 1.7% to end at $62.64.

Lower for the day was Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., down 3.3% to $13.20, and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., off 1.3% to $72.50.

Financial stocks finished the day up 0.3%.

Shares of Onex Corp. surged $2.08, or 8.1%, to close at $27.93.

Also higher was Bank of Nova Scotia, up 1% to $48.94, and Sun Life Financial Corp., up 1% to $33.35.

Junior stocks experienced a volatile day on the TSX Venture Exchange, but swung into positive territory by day’s end. The S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed at 1,272.31, up 2.58 points, or 0.2%.

The Canadian dollar climbed by nearly a fifth of a cent to close at US92.12¢.

In New York, an unexpected drop in the Conference Board’s monthly index of consumer confidence dragged stocks lower on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 47.16 points, or 0.5%, to 9,742.20.

The S&P 500 Index dropped 2.37 points, or 0.2%, to 1,060.61.

The Nasdaq composite index declined 6.7 points, or 0.3%, to 2,124.04.

IE