Toronto stocks shot up early and closed strongly higher on Thursday, getting a lift from surging commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 249.83 points, or 1.97%, at 12,907.23.

Eight of the 10 main TSX groups made gains.

The resource-heavy materials group gained, rising 4.7%, while the diversified metals sub-group group gaining 4.85%.

Eastern Platinum Ltd. gained 15¢, or 5.54%, closing at $2.86.

The gold sub-group gained 3.83%, as gold futures rose US$22.70 and closed at US$905.80 an ounce on Nymex.

Kinross Gold gained $1.77, or 8.47%, to close at $22.67, while Yamana Gold was a big mover –14,478,415 shares — gaining 30¢, or 1.95%, to close at $15.66.

The influential financials group retreated after yesterday’s strong showing. It lost 0.76%.

CIBC led this heavyweight group down, losing $2.03, or 2.92%, and closing at $67.59.

The energy group rose 3.13%, and the March crude contract closed up for the first time in three days. It gained US$2.42, or 2.7%, and ended the day at
US$89.41 a barrel on Nymex.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up, gaining 93.38, or 3.83%, to shut down at 2,533.72.

The Canadian dollar finished at US$99.39, up 1.7¢ from yesterday.

In a quarterly update to its Monetary Policy Report, the Bank of Canada said the Canadian economy will gain momentum by the middle of this year, but further interest rate cuts will likely be needed to make this happen.

In New York, U.S. stocks yo-yoed wildly today, but finally settled on higher ground after the government unveiled its taxpayer rebate plan.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 108.4 points, or 0.88%, to shut down at 12,378.6.

The S&P 500 rose 13.47 points, or 1.01%, ending at 1,352.07

The tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed almost 2%, adding 44.51 points, or 1.92%, to end the session at 2,360.92.