Toronto stocks finished higher for the second day in a row on Friday, as rising commodity prices lifted resources issues.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 86.20 points, or 0.64%, to 13,467.20.

For the week, the benchmark index was down 0.5%.

Overall, seven of the 10 TSX main sectors ended higher Friday.

Crude futures closed at a record US$98.18 a barrel in New York, up 89¢, gold rose US$26.10 to US$824.70 an ounce.

The materials group gained 2.6%, while the gold subsector rose 3.3%.

Barrick Gold was up $1.05, or 2.5%, at $42.40 and Goldcorp rose 90¢, or 2.8%, to $33.60.

The energy sector advanced 0.7%.

Suncor Energy rose $1.34, or 1.3%, to $101.34 and Petro-Canada was up 42¢, or 0.8%, at $51.60.

The financial sector was flat as Bank of Montreal declined 75¢ to $55.85, but Royal Bank added 30¢ to $50.05.

BMO reports its fourth-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

Bank of Nova Scotia rose 10¢ to $49.70 on word it’s in talks to buy Banco del Trabajo, the ninth-largest commercial bank in Peru.

Shares in Dundee Wealth Inc. were down 7¢ to $20.78. The stock had gained 8.5% Thursday to a record high on speculation of a takeover.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index soared 1.97%, or 54.92 points, to finish at 2,846.71

The Canadian dollar was down 0.52 cent to US$1.0105.


In New York, U.S. stocks rebounded in an abbreviated session as the start of holiday shopping lifted retail stocks.

Meanwhile, progress in a plan to relieve the credit market’s strain aided bank shares.

Trading volume was thin in the shortened session. U.S. financial markets were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving. On Wednesday stocks suffered heavy losses on credit market and housing sector worries.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 181.84 points, or 1.42%, at 12,980.88. The S&P 500 was up 23.93 points, or 1.69%, at 1,440.70. The Nasdaq composite index was up 34.45 points, or 1.34%, at 2,596.60.

Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup all rose more than 2%. The three banks, spearheading an effort to establish a superfund to ease problems in the credit market, are expected to seek support from others in the industry, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Despite Friday’s rally, the Dow finished the week down 1.5%. The S&P lost 1.2% on the week and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%.