Financial and energy issues pushed Toronto stocks higher Tuesday despite grim housing and wholesale numbers out of the United States.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 99.56 points, or 0.73%, at 13,797.01.

Six of the 10 major TSX groups advanced.

The financials group gained 1.46%.

Sun Life Financial shares added $1.69, or 3.59%, to close at $48.77.

Shares in the Royal Bank of Canada gained 51¢, or $1.02, to $50.70, while Manulife shares went up 50¢, or 1.30%, to $39.01.

The energy group was also strong, moving up 1.44%, as crude for April delivery ended up US$1.65 a barrel, or 1.7%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Talisman Energy Inc. shares gained 25¢, or 1.45%, to $17.44.

Oilexco Inc. shares gained 83¢, or 5.30%, to close at $16.49.

The information tech group remained flat, gaining 0.03%, as Research in Motion shares dropped $2.84, or 2.62%, to $105.61.

The materials group also finished flat, losing 0.03%.

Uranium One Inc. shares lost 17¢, or 3.37%, on a heavy day of trading (11,175,319 shares) to close at $4.88.

The gold sub-index rose 0.34%, as gold for April delivery gained US$8.40 to finish at US$940.50 an ounce on the Nymex.

In individual stocks, shares in Cott Corp. fell $1.50, or 37.50%, to end at $2.50, after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced it is cutting the company’s shelf space for pop.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 29.25 points, or 1.09%, to end at 2,715.49.

The Canadian dollar finished at US$1.02, up 0.02 of a cent from yesterday’s close.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 114.70 points, or 0.91%, to end the session at 12,684.92.

The S&P 500 added 9.49 points, or 0.69%, to 1,381.29.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed up 17.51 points, or 0.75%, at 2,344.99.