Strength in financial stocks and energy companies carried the Toronto Stock Exchange higher with triple digit gains on Wednesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 146.6 points, or 1.7%, to close at 8,906.23.

The financials group led the way with gains of 4%.

National Bank of Canada saw its stock surge $2.84, or 8.4%, to close at $36.48.

Bank of Nova Scotia shares rose 5.3% to $31.17 and CIBC shares jumped $2.91, or 6.4%, to $48.41.

Laurentian Bank of Canada was up 5.3% to $30.75 and Toronto-Dominion Bank shares were up a hefty 6.7% to $42.38.

Shares in AGF Management Ltd. managed to register gains of 1.5% to $8.40 after the investment management firm reported a fourth-quarter loss of $19.3 million as it took $46.3 million in impairment charges related to weakness in financial markets.

The energy group also advanced on Wednesday, rising 2.2% as oil futures finished the day with gains. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the March crude contract ended up 58 cents, or 1.4%, at US$42.16 a barrel.

Shares of EnCana Corp. rose 4.9% to $57.22 and Petro-Canada was up 2.7% to $28.70.

Suncor Inc. shares surged 5% to $25.10.

UTS Energy Corp. saw its stock jump $0.90, or 108.4%, to $1.73 after French energy giant Total made a $617-million bid to buy the Calgary company late on Tuesday.

Materials companies dipped 1.5% in Wednesday’s trading as gold futures dipped lower. Gold for February delivery fell US$11.30, or 1.3%, to US$888.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The sub-gold index dropped 3.9%.

Shares of Yamana Gold Inc. fell 5.3% to $9.20 and Goldcorp Inc. was lower by 4.6% to $33.77.

Others advanced, including Teck Cominco Ltd., up 6.3% to $5.95, and Potash Corp., up 2.4% to $95.80.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite rose 2.05 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 869.92.

The Canadian dollar rose by three-quarters of a cent to close at US82.29¢.

In New York, hopes for additional stimulus and a federal financial rescue plan had bank stocks leading a stock market rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 200.72 points, or 2.5%, to 8,375.45.

The S&P 500 index rose 28.38 points, or 3.4%, to 874.09, and the Nasdaq composite gained 53.44 points, or 3.6%, to 1,558.34.

IE