Toronto markets were generally solid throughout the day, as commodities provided a strong foundation for gains.

The S&P/TSX Composite index closed up 109.94 points, or 0.80%, at 13,935.54, as seven of the ten major TSX groups gained today.

The heavyweight energy group gained 1.49%, as crude for June delivery closed down US$2.17, or 1.9%, at US$113.46 a barrel on the Nymex.

Talisman Energy Inc. shares closed up 21¢, or 1.04%, at $20.37, after it reported Q1 earnings of $466 million, or 46¢ per share, down 10% from the same quarter last year.

The materials group rose 1.47%, as the gold sub-index gained 2.83%.

Gold for June delivery fell US$11.70 to close at US865.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced a 25 bps rate cut in the afternoon, gold futures rose more than US$14 in electronic trading.

Shares in gold firm Crystallex International Corp. closed down 69¢, or 42.86%, at 92¢, after it announced it could not get approval for exploration for a project in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, shares in major player Goldcorp Inc. gained $1, or 2.87%, to close at $35.81.

The financials group closed up 0.68%. Shares in the Royal Bank of Canada ended up 97¢, or 2.06%, at $48.02.

As well, shares in TSX Group Inc. rose $1.82, or 4.5%, to close at $42.30, after it announced that Q1 profit fell 10% due to a $15.2-million payment to International Securities Exchange Holdings Inc. to get out of a planned merger deal. Excluding that deal breaker cost, the company said profit increased 36%. TSX Group’s merger with Montreal Exchange is set to close May 1.

In Canadian earnings news, Loblaw Companies Ltd. shares closed up $2.28, or 7.72%, at $31.83, after it reported Q1 earnings rose nearly 15%, to $62 million, up from $54 million from the same period the year before.

As well, Toronto Star publisher, Torstar Corp., reported a Q1 loss of $3.5 million and its shares closed down $1.80, or 10.5%, at $15.35.

The Canadian dollar closed at US99.29¢, up 0.47 of a cent from yesterday’s close, after Statistics Canada reported that GDP declined 0.2% for the month, continuing at a much lower pace than in the first half of 2007.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index closed up 22.17 points, or 0.91%, at 2455.06.

In New York, markets reversed early gains after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates, as some analysts felt the central bank hinted toward a break in its cutting cycle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 11.81 points, or 0.09%, at 12,820.13.

The S&P 500 fell 5.35 points, or 0.38%, to close at 1,385.59.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 13.30 points, or 0.55%, at 2,412.80.