TORONTO (Bloomberg) — Canadian stocks advanced on signs of a strengthening US economy, pushing the benchmark index to its second-highest close. Climbing oil and metal prices lifted shares of commodity producers."If the worst is behind the US economic growth, then it's a nice recipe for elevated commodity prices in the coming quarters," said Clement Gignac, a chief economist and strategist for National Bank Financial in Montreal.

The US, Canada's biggest trading partner, added 157,000 jobs, almost twice the previous month's rate, the US Labor Department said. Other reports showed inflation advanced at half the pace expected by economists, manufacturing expanded and consumer confidence rebounded from an eight-month low.

Magna International, Canada's biggest car parts maker, rose 59 cents to C$95.61. Bombardier, the world's third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, gained 22 cents to C$5.54.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index added 62.59, or 0.5 percent, to 14,119.37, closing within 0.2 percent of its May 23 record 14,142.51.

Shares of mining companies advanced on rising prices of gold, silver and oil. Gold gained the most in three months, adding $10.20 to C$676.90 after the European Central Bank said it has no plans to sell more of the metal through September. Kinross Gold added 19 cents to C$14.46. Goldcorp, the world's third-largest gold producer, rose 31 cents to C$26.04.

"As gold goes up, it tends to drag everything up with it," said Irwin Michael, who helps manage C$1.17 billion at ABC Funds in Toronto.