The Toronto stocks close higher on the final trading day of the first quarter. The gains were spurred by a report that said Canadian GDP in January grew at its fastest pace in almost two years.

Statistics Canada reported that gross domestic product grew by 0.6 per cent for the opening month of the year.

The Toronto Stock Exchange 300 composite index gained 15.6 points to 7,851.5 on strength in industrial products and financial services stocks.

Low trading volume also played a part in market action before the Good Friday holiday

Overall, nine of the 14 TSE sub-indices closed lower. Gold stocks finished down 2.48%.

Goldcorp fell 75¢ to $27.75, while Barrick Gold Corp. slipped 90¢ to $29.15.

The tech-heavy industrial products sub-index gained 1.37%. Nortel Networks climbed 30¢ to $7.08. Bombardier rose 22¢ to $14.35.

Financial services rose 0.69$. Three of the big five banks reached new 52-week highs. Royal Bank climbed 75¢to $53.20; CIBC gained 60¢ to $56.45.

The Canadian Venture Exchange gained 11.78 points to 1,186.52.

In New York, stocks ended mixed Thursday, as investors seemed torn between believing in a strong gross domestic product report and positive news from the chip sector or lackluster employment figures and profit warnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished with a loss of 22.97 points, or 0.2%, to 10,403.94. The Nasdaq was up 18.61 points to 1,845.36 and the S&P 500 added 2.81 points to 1,147.39.

The U.S.Commerce Department revised its reading of fourth-quarter economic growth to 1.7% from 1.4%, saying GDP was boosted by a decline in the trade deficit.

The U.S. Labor Department had a less rosy report, saying that initial jobless claims rose to 394,000 in the week ended March 23, compared with 376,000 the previous week.

In addition, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index hit its highest level since the end of 2000.

The Canadian dollar benefited slightly from the Canada’s strong GDP report. The loonie gained US0.02¢ to close at US62.73¢.