Financial stocks kept the Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark index above the water line Thursday, as gold tanked and the materials group tumbled.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 66.26 points, or 0.52%, to finish at 12,775.64.

Six of the 10 major TSX groups gained ground.

The financials group jumped 2.11%, with BMO and CIBC leading the charge.

Bank of Montreal stock moved up 5.72%, or $2.41, to close at $44.51, after it announced it has restructured the Apex and Sitka trusts, injecting $850 million in financing to keep them afloat.

CIBC shares moved up 6.80%, $4.09, to close at $64.26.

Meanwhile the resource-laden materials index dropped 1.57%, as the gold index plunged 2.72%.

Barrick Gold Corp. shares lost $2.98, or 6.48%, to close at $42.98 and Goldcorp shares dropped $1.32, or 3.34%, to close at $38.18. And Yamana Gold Inc. shares sank 56¢, or 3.32%, to end at $16.34 on a heavy day of trading (10,437,924 shares).

The April gold contract dropped US$25.30, or 2.7%, to end at US$920 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The TSX base metals subindex fell 0.46%, as Breakwater Resources Inc. shares fell 9¢, or 7.83%, to close at $1.06.

The heavyweight energy group shed 0.39%, as crude oil for May delivery, the new front-month contract, closed down 70¢, or 0.7%, at US$101.84 a barrel on the Nymex.

And the information tech group was pushed ahead 2.87%, as Research in Motion shares gained $4.50, or 4.39%, closing at $107.07.

The Canadian dollar plunged further today, closing at 97.71¢ US, down 0.78 of a cent since yesterday’s close, as commodity prices tumbled.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed down 22.66 points, or 0.91%, at 2,462.33.

In New York, U.S. stocks posted broad-based gains.

The Dow Jones industrial gained 261.66 points, or 2.16%, to end at 12,361.32. The S&P 500 gained 31.09 points, or 2.39%, to close at 1,329.51.

As well, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed up 48.15 points, or 2.18%, at 2,258.11.

Financial markets in Canada and the United States will be closed for Good Friday.