A recovery in gold-mining issues and surging tech shares propelled Toronto stocks higher on Friday as the market extended its rally amid optimism about corporate results.
The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index closed up 98.32 points, or 1.17 percent, at 8,522.26 - its best closing level since February 2001.
On the week, the index rose 2 percent.
"There was a lot of green today," said John Kinsey, portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities.
"There's just an awful lot of momentum here."
Kinsey said the lack of major warnings about earnings results was keeping sentiment upbeat heading into a heavy reporting next week.
"I expect that we will meet or exceed all the forecasts, or certainly the bulk of them," he said. "Expectations are very high so if there is a problem with one of the companies' earnings, I think the reception it gets will be very rude."
Investor appetite for tech stocks, supported by hopes that spending is picking up in the embattled sector, underpinned the market.
That, coupled with solid results from key US tech bellwethers, helped the tech sector maintain the momentum that has pushed the sector 32 percent higher this year alone.
On Friday, the tech group jumped 4.62 percent as telecommunications equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp gained 64 Canadian cents, or 7.72 percent, to C$8.93.
Contract electronics maker Celestica Inc rose C$1.97, or 8.04 percent, to C$26.47, and Sierra Wireless was up C$2.68, or 9.67 percent, to C$30.40.
Overall, eight of the TSX's 10 subgroups finished higher with health-care issues logging a 2.34 percent increase.
The financials sector maintained its upward tilt on hopes the Bank of Canada will cut interest rates next week while the one of the largest financial mergers in US history - between J.P. Morgan and Bank One - kept interest alive in bank stocks.
Bank of Montreal was up 85 Canadian cents, or 1.49 percent, at C$58.05, while Bank of Nova Scotia rose 85 Canadian cents, or 1.29 percent, to C$66.75.
Meanwhile, gold-mining stocks snapped a four-day losing streak to end 2.19 percent higher despite still soft bullion prices as investors decided to step in and buy on the sector's recent dip.
Placer Dome climbed 46 Canadian cents, or 2.21 percent, to C$21.32, and Barrick Gold gained 48 Canadian cents, or 1.8 percent, to C$27.22.
The energy sector ended flat, while consumer staples fell 0.73 percent, weighed down by brewer Molson Inc.
Molson shares fell C$4.86, or 13.86 percent, to C$30.20 a day after it slashed its earnings outlook because of lower volumes at its Brazilian arm.
Overall, market momentum was positive with 783 issues advancing and 523 issues declining as 390 million shares worth C$C$4.2 billion changed hands.
The blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 index ended up 5.31 points, or 1.12 percent, at 478.68.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 46.66 points, or 0.44 percent, to 10,600.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 31.38 points, or 1.49 percent, to 2,140.46.
Markets in the United States will be closed on Monday in observance of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr's birthday.
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