TORONTO (Bloomberg) - Canadian stocks rose to the highest in more than two weeks, led by Toronto-Dominion Bank after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and UBS AG raised $19 billion in capital, indicating banks may withstand credit losses.

Barrick Gold Corp. fell for a fourth day as slumping prices for bullion and other commodities dragged down raw-materials producers. EnCana Corp. paced a drop in energy shares.

"Everyone's selling commodities to buy financials," said Peter Hodson, who helps manage about $6.2 billion as senior portfolio manager at Sprott Asset Management Inc. in Toronto. "If Lehman can raise $4 billion, and UBS $15 billion, that helps confidence. If it weren't for commodities, Toronto would be up a couple of hundred points."

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index added 90.59 points, or 0.7 percent, to 13,440.72 in Toronto, rebounding from a 0.7 drop earlier. Canada's stock benchmark has retreated 2.8 percent this year.

Lehman Brothers, the fourth-largest US securities firm, sold $4 billion in stock, quelling speculation it is short of capital. UBS said it plans to raise about $15 billion from existing shareholders after reporting $19 billion in additional writedowns on sub-prime-related debt securities.

Toronto-Dominion Bank gained 3.2 percent to C$64.50. Canada's third-largest lender has taken no losses or writedowns on asset-backed securities, and on Monday completed its takeover of Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Commerce Bancorp Inc., the biggest purchase by a Canadian bank.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the country's fifth- biggest bank by assets, rose 4.2 percent to C$68.90. Larger rival Bank of Montreal added 2.9 percent to C$47.30. Bank of Nova Scotia, the second-biggest, gained 2.4 percent to C$47.66. Manulife Financial Corp., Canada's biggest insurer, rose 3 percent to C$40.48.

Rising US mortgage defaults have caused $232 billion in asset writedowns and credit losses since the beginning of 2007, including reserves set aside for bad loans, at more than 45 of the world's biggest banks and securities firms, according to Bloomberg data. Canadian firms are responsible for $6.5 billion of the total, led by CIBC's $4 billion in losses.

Rogers Communications Inc. climbed the most in 20 months, rising eight percent to C$39.89. Canada's largest wireless carrier gained on speculation that a national rival will not emerge from a May 27 airwaves auction. Industry Canada, manager of the auction, released its roster of 27 qualified bidders yesterday. The list "did not reveal any major strategic player," UBS analyst Jeffrey Fan wrote in report yesterday.

Telus Corp., the country's second-biggest mobile-phone company, rose 4.1 percent to C$46.55.

Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry e-mail phone, rose the most in a week, gaining four percent to C$120.10. It is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter 2008 results tomorrow. The company may raise estimates for fiscal 2009, UBS's Mr. Fan said.

Financial companies advanced 2.6 percent as a group, and an index of phone stocks advanced four percent. Gauges of materials and energy shares fell 1.9 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Barrick Gold, the world's largest producer of the metal, slid 4.9 percent to C$42.70. Smaller rival Goldcorp Inc. fell 4 percent to C$38.30. Kinross Gold Corp. declined 4.2 percent to C$21.93. Yamana Gold Inc. dropped 5.3 percent to C$14.26.

Gold plunged below $900 an ounce for the first time in six weeks as investors shifted money to equities on signs banks are rebounding from U.S. subprime-mortgage losses. Oil and copper also declined.

EnCana, North America's biggest publicly traded gas producer, retreated 2.1 percent to C$76.60. Suncor Energy Inc., the second-largest oil-sands miner, fell 0.7 percent to C$98.53.

TransCanada Corp. fell 5.8 percent to C$37.26, the biggest drop in eight years. Canada's biggest pipeline company agreed to buy National Grid plc.'s Ravenswood power plant in New York City for $2.9 billion. Profit may be hurt for two years, TransCanada said. The company may sell C$1 billion in stock to help finance the purchase, Desjardins Securities analyst Daniel Shteyn said.

"I'm a little shocked at the drama," of the drop in commodities, said Mr. Hodson, whose firm is betting financial shares will fall. "People are trying to time the bottom for the financials."