Energy and resources shares rallied on the back of stronger commodity prices Thursday, boosting the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 189.08 points, or 1.42%, to close at 13,539.22.

Overall, six of the 10 main TSX groups gained ground.

The TSX energy group rose 2.33% as the price of U.S. crude hit US$121.18 a barrel, up US$5.62, driven by rising tensions between the United States and Russia.

In Toronto, Petro-Canada climbed 3.2% to $47.93, while Imperial Oil rose 3.7% to $54.67.

The materials group jumped 3.85% as gold rose above $US830 an ounce as the U.S. dollar weakened.

Agnico-Eagle jumped 5.2% to end at $60.75. Inmet Mining rose 4.8% to close at $65.66.

The TSX financials group edged 0.34% lower.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 29.93 points, or 1.56%, to 1,949.68.

The Canadian dollar advanced more than 1.5¢ as the U.S. greenback weakened. The loonie jumped 1.56¢ to end at US95.79¢.

In New York, the major U.S. indices ended mixed as surging oil prices drove up energy shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 12.62 points, or 0.11%, at 11,430.05. The S&P 500 was up 3.17 points, or 0.25%, at 1,277.71. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 8.70 points, or 0.36%, at 2,380.38.