Toronto stocks surged higher Friday, as big gains in the energy, financial and information technology sectors propelled the market.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 120.97, or 1.12%, to close at 10,898.20, its highest finish in five years.

Volume was 238 million shares.

The Canadian dollar closed up 0.32 of a U.S. cent to US84.93¢, its highest close in 10 months. The loonie traded above US85¢ during the day.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery fell 41¢ to settle at US$64.08 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil prices were down over 5% for the week, after trading above US$70 last week in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

The energy sector improved 2.21%. Suncor Energy Inc. gained $2.25, or 3.28%, to $70.90.

Enbridge reported it will spend roughly $400 million to build a pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to an Edmonton refinery hub. Its shares gained $1.39, or 4.01%, to $36.04.

The heavily weighted financials group gained 0.56%

CI Fund Management rose $1.39, or 5.77%, to $25.49. Yesterday, the financial services announced its intention to convert into an income trust.

The information technology index moved ahead 1.44%

Nortel Networks rose 7¢, or 1.88%, to $3.80.

Software firm Open Text announced it’s cutting 300 jobs to cut costs after lower sales affected profits. Its shares leapt ahead 10.29% to $15, a $1.40 gain.

The health care group lifted a remarkable 6.33%, mostly on the success of Biovail Corp. The pharmaceutical company gained $4.31, or 23.59%, to $22.58 on news its Tramadol ER drug had received FDA approval in the U.S.

In economic news, Statistics Canada the overall jobless rate at 6.8% in August, same as the July number.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said housing starts totalled 201,000 units in August, down from 242,600 units in July.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 18.95, or 0.96%, to 1,991.22.

In New York, the lower price of oil and good corporate news lifted markets higher.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 82.63 points to 10,678.56, the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.48 points at 2,175.51 and the S&P 500 Index climbed 9.81 points to 1,241.48.

The Dow Jones gained 2.2% on the week, the Nasdaq 1.6%, and the S&P500 1.9%.