Toronto stocks rallied Wednesday as commodity prices gained ground and CIBC reported lower-than-expected charges for its third quarter.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 231.58 points, or 1.74%, at 13,530.65.

All but one of the 10 TSX main groups posted gains.

The heavyweight energy sector rose 1.9%. Oil jumped to above $118 a barrel as Tropical Storm Gustav was expected to intensify into a hurricane that could threaten U.S. oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Canadian Natural Resources shares jumped 3.2% to $90.36.

The financial group gained 2.5% after CIBC recorded lower than expected charges on structured-credit investments and managed a small profit. CIBC shares gained 5.3% to $60.10.

Royal Bank of Canada, which reports tomorrow rose 2.7% to $45.30. TD Bank and National Bank also report third quarter results on Thursday.

Rising prices for gold, copper and other metals boosted the resource-laden materials sector 1.8%.

Agnico-Eagle Mines gained 2.2% to $60.42.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 7.32 points, or 0.38%, to close at 1,949.92.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.15 of cent to close at US95.53¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks advanced as surprisingly strong data on durable goods orders soothed some concern about the sluggish economy.

New orders for big-ticket manufactured items jumped a surprisingly strong 1.3% in July. Durable goods orders can vary widely from month to month.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 89.64 points, or 0.79%, at 11,502.51. The S&P 500 was up 10.12 points, or 0.80%, at 1,281.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 20.49 points, or 0.87%, at 2,382.46.

Trading volume was thin ahead of the Labour Day holiday weekend.