TORONTO - Canadian stocks rose, erasing their loss for this year, as near-record oil prices boosted energy companies such as Niko Resources Ltd. and Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index rose 1.2 percent to close at 13,909.58. The index gained for the eighth time in nine days, bringing the benchmark to a 0.4 percent gain for 2008. Crude oil for May delivery fell 0.7 percent after setting a record yesterday. Prices are up 78 percent from a year ago.

"We're still in a commodities boom," said David Cockfield, who helps manage about $2 billion at Leon Frazer Associates Inc. in Toronto. "People are refocusing a bit on the growth potential and Canada looks just fine."

The S&P/TSX Energy Index climbed for a fifth day, adding 1.2 percent and contributed the most among 10 industry groups to the broader index's gain.

Niko, the Calgary-based oil and gas exploration and development company, advanced the most in almost three months, adding 6.1 percent to C$90.75. Petrobank, the Calgary-based developer of oil-sands extraction technology, climbed the most in two weeks, adding five percent to C$48.

Questerre Energy Corp. surged to a record after the Norwegian news service TDN Finans reported that the Calgary-based oil explorer's stake in the potential gas discovery at Saint Lawrence Lowlands is worth between $300 million and $500 million. TDN cited CEO Michael Binnion, who spoke at a company presentation on yesterday. The shares climbed 73 percent to C$2.40.

"It was back to our stalwarts, energy and materials," said Greg Eckel, who helps manage C$1.3 billion at Toronto-based Morgan Meighen & Associates. "There is a renewed interest in oil stocks because people are building in the higher expectation of pricing over and above what is built into the pricing of the equities themselves."

Yamana Gold Inc. rose to the highest in a week after saying first-quarter output almost doubled on acquisitions. The shares advanced 0.5 percent to C$14.82.

The developer of the Chapada mine in Brazil said that gold- equivalent production for the quarter was 238,690 ounces, up from 120,607 ounces a year earlier, after it purchased Meridian Gold Inc. and Northern Orion Resources Inc. last year.

Output topped the company's March 25 forecast of 220,000 ounces.

A gauge of materials stocks increased 0.9 percent, led by Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., which agreed to sell its 42 percent stake in Jinshan Gold Mines to China National Gold Group Corp. for C$218 million ($214 million).

Ivanhoe, which is facing losses caused by delays in completing an agreement with Mongolia's government to start production at the Oyu Tolgoi project, added 4.7 percent to C$11.54, the highest in a month.

Eastern Platinum Ltd., the Vancouver-based producer of the metal in South Africa, said it may get 200,000 ounces a year of platinum and related metals from its Spitzkop project. The stock gained the most in a week, adding 4.5 percent to C$3.03

Nortel Networks Corp. gained on a report that a breakup of North America's largest phone-gear maker could boost its value by a third. The shares advanced 2.2 percent to C$7.42 after Merrill Lynch & Co. said a breakup could boost the stock by more than 35 percent. The individual parts of the company combined are worth about $10 (C$10.18) a share, Merrill analysts wrote in a note.

MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. declined the most in the S&P/TSX after the government blocked the sale of its space- technology unit to a US company in the first rejection of a foreign takeover since at least 1985. The shares lost the most in 10 months on the Toronto Stock Exchange, dropping C$4, or 8.5 percent, to C$42.85.

Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice wrote to Edina, Minnesota-based Alliant on April 8 to say that the proposed C$1.33 billion ($1.31 billion) sale of MDA's space business, which includes a remote sensing satellite that scans Canada's Arctic region, doesn't provide a "net benefit" to the nation.