The Toronto Stock Exchange closed higher Wednesday after a volatile day of trading, as energy stocks rose on surging oil prices, overshadowing weakness in the telecommunications and information technology subindices.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 50.12 points, or 0.48%, to 10,597.98. Canada’s senior exchange had traded as high as 10,674.14 early in the session, but descended into negative territory, hitting a low of 10,523.23 in the afternoon, before lifting at the end of the day.

Half of the 10 TSX main subgroups finished higher, with the energy index gaining 1.42%, the biggest gainer among the categories.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery gained $1.32, or 1.9%, to finish at US$71.33 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. U.S. crude oil inventories were down by 4.4 million barrels as of the end of last week, according to a report.

Encana Corp. gained $1.54, or 2.54%, to $62.28.

The materials index lifted 0.51%. Gold for August delivery ended unchanged at US$954.70 an ounce.

Kinross Gold Corp. advanced 6¢, or 0.30%, to $20.34. Teck Cominco gained 55¢, or 2.81%, to $20.15.

Financials rose by 0.08%. The Royal Bank of Canada gained 10¢, or 0.22%, to $45.60.

The telecommunications subindex fell 0.92%, while the information technology group dropped 0.27%.

Rogers Communication Inc. fell 46¢, or 1.43%, to $31.68.

Celestica fell 69¢, or 8.02%, to $7.91.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.33¢ to US90.17¢.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange fell 1.57, or 0.14%, to 1,142.39

In New York, markets ended lower as investors remained concerned that the continuing surge in oil prices would hamper economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 24.04 points, or 0.27%, to 8,739.02, the broad-based S&P 500 index fell 3.28, or 0.35%, to 939.15, and the Nasdaq composite average dropped 7.05, or 0.38%, to 1,853.08.