Broad-based gains carried the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange higher on Wednesday, with particular strength among financials and materials stocks.

All 10 main groups on the TSX advanced, sending the S&P/TSX composite index up 204.21 points, or 2.1%, to close at 10,100.93.

The financials group surged 2.7% during Wednesday’s trading.

Shares of Manulife Financial Corp. advanced 4.2% to $21.09 after dropping in the previous two sessions.

Royal Bank of Canada gained 3.3% to $45.49 and Bank of Montreal rose 2.8% to $46.78.

Shares of Power Corp. surged $1.56, or 6.6%, to end at $25.35.

Investment management firm AGF Management Ltd. saw its stock jump 5.5% after it announced that second quarter profits fell 61% from a year ago to $17.2 million. AGF shares added 60 cents to close at $11.61.

The materials group jumped 2.4% and the sub-gold index rose 2.8% as gold futures advanced. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold for August delivery closed at US$934.40 an ounce, up US$10.10, or 1%.

Shares of Kinross Gold Corp. rose 5.1% to $21.13 and Goldcorp Inc. gained 2.4% to $40.48.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. soared $3.02, or 5.1%, to $61.95.

Heavily traded shares of Yamana Gold Inc. finished the day at $10.44, up 3.3%.

Energy stocks gained 1.5% on Wednesday despite a dip in oil futures. Crude for August delivery fell 57 cents to end at US$68.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares of Addax Petroleum Corp. surged 7.3% on news that the company has reached a deal to be acquired by Chinese oil and gas giant Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corp. for $8.27 billion. Addax shares gained $3.31 to close at $48.96.

Nexen Inc. rose 2% to $23.59 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. advanced 1.3% to $56.76.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index also advanced on Wednesday, gaining 16.48 points, or 1.5%, to 1,090.66.

The Canadian dollar slipped US0.19¢ against the U.S. dollar to close at US86.77¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks finished with mixed results after the Federal Open Market Committee left its key interest rate unchanged and issued an upbeat statement about the economy, saying that the downturn is slowing and deflation is no longer a big threat.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.1 points, or 0.3%, to close at 8,299.86.

The S&P 500 index edged up 5.84 points, or 0.7%, to end at 900.94.

The Nasdaq composite index finished at 1,792.34, up 27.42 points, or 1.6%, after tech bellwether Oracle reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that topped expectations.

IE