Financials tempered gains by surging energy and materials stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as CIBC reported a first quarter loss of $1.46 billion.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 95.51 points, or 0.69%, to end at 13,873.89.

Six of the 10 major TSX groups gained today.

However, the financials group fell 0.75%.

CIBC shares lost $1.05, or 1.52%, to close at $67.95, after it announced a $1.46 billion loss for Q1 on the day of its annual meeting.

Meanwhile, TD Bank Financial Group shares lost 68¢, or 1%, to close at $67.06, despite hiking its dividend by 2¢, to 59¢, and reporting a 5% increase in Q1 earnings to $970 million.

As well Bank of Montreal shares lost $1.65, or 3.06%, to end at $52.35, after debt rating agency DBRS downgraded its ratings on the debt of Sitka Trust and Apex Trust.

National Bank shares lost 37¢, or 0.72%, to finish the day at $50.73, after it announced earnings in Q1 rose 6% to $255 million.

The information tech group also weighed on the index, dropping 2.47%.

Nortel Networks shares lost 80¢, or 8.26%, at $8.88. As well, Research in Motion shares fell $2.56, or 2.35%, to $106.52.

Meanwhile the heavyweight energy group gained 2.38%.

Canadian Natural Resources shares gained $3.63, or 5.05%, to close at $75.45, after it said Q4 profit climbed 155% to $798 million from $313 million last year.

Crude oil for April delivery gained US$2.95 to close at US$102.59, a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a record closing for a front-month contract.

The resource-laden materials group rose 2.04%, with the base metals sub-group rising 2.29%, and the gold sub-index climbing 2.02%,

Gold for April delivery hit a record US$970 an ounce on the Nymex.

Goldcorp shares gained $1.13, or 2.66%, to end at $43.67. And Kinross Gold Corp. shares gained 57¢, or 2.36%, to end the session at $24.71.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 55.04 points, or 2%, to finish the day at 2,809.50.

The Canadian dollar closed out at US102.41¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks ended lower on a fresh sign of weakness in the job market and the Federal Reserve chairman’s warning that the anemic housing market could cause small-bank failures.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 112.10 points, or 0.88%, to end the session at 12,582.18.

The S&P 500 dropped 12.34 points, or 0.89%, to close at 1,367.68.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index closed down 22.21 points, or 0.94%, to close at 2,331.57.