Toronto stocks were solid throughout most of Monday, but lost steam in late afternoon trading as energy and metals issues weighed on markets.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 76.82 points, or 0.56%, at 13,745.01.

Seven of the 10 major TSX groups gained today.

The financials group sector closed up 0.41%.

CIBC shares closed up $1.30, or 1.92%, at $68.90 and Bank of Montreal stock gained 31¢, or 0.66%, to close at $47.05.

The materials group closed up 1.11%, as the gold subindex gained 0.60%.

Gold for June delivery climbed US$13.60 to end at US$926.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Barrick Gold Corp. shares rose 63¢, or 1.43%, to close at $44.69.

The base metals sector gained 1.77%, as Teck Cominco Ltd. shares gained $1.20, or 2.65%, to close at $46.50, after it confirmed it will go ahead with its Petaquilla copper project in Panama.

Meanwhile, the heavyweight energy group moved ahead 0.89% as the May crude contract closed up US$2.86, or 2.7%, at US$109.09 a barrel on the Nymex. Crude-oil futures climbed back above the US109 mark during the day.

In other corporate news, Quebecor World Inc. shares rose 4¢, or 19.51%, to close at 25¢, after it announced it has signed a deal to print Rolling Stone magazine plus two other magazines published by Wenner Media.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index closed up 18.77 points, or 0.74%, at 2551.32.

The Canadian dollar closed out at US98.69¢, down 0.39 of a cent from Friday’s close.

The Conference Board of Canada released a report predicting the Canadian economy should grow by 2.2% this year, with consumer spending shielding the economy from the U.S. slowdown.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks were mixed as late-day trading progressed. Financials were buoyed by reports that Washington Mutual Inc. was set to receive a US$5 billion cash injection from private equity firms.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 3.01 points, or 0.02%, to end at 12,612.43. The S&P 500 moved ahead 2.14 points, or 0.16%, to close at 1,372.54.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 6.15 points, or 0.26%, at 2,364.83.

After markets closed, aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. said Monday that first-quarter profit was cut in half from a year ago because of higher energy and raw material costs and a weak U.S. dollar.

Net earnings were US$303 million, or 37¢ a share, compared with US$662 million, or 75¢ a share, in the same quarter last year, the company said.