TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto’s main stock index rallied late yesterday and closed strongly higher as record gold prices pushed up resource stocks.

Bullion prices climbed to a record high of $1,427.01 an ounce, helping to lift the index’s heavyweight materials group 1.99 percent.

Barrick Gold rose 1.9 percent to C$55.25, and Agnico Eagle jumped 3.13 percent to C$87.91. Goldcorp was up 1.93 percent at C$48.16.

Copper prices climbed to a three-week high, sending Teck Resources up 3.39 percent to C$56.72.

Meanwhile, Silver Wheaton soared 4.83 percent to C$41.27 on the back of silver prices that rose above $30 an ounce for the first time since 1980.

Ongoing worries over the European debt crisis and speculation about further monetary policy easing in the United States helped fuel the rise in metal prices.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 97.06 points, or 0.74 percent, at 13,276.01. The rally came late in the day and the index was only modestly higher for much of the session.

“It really is the materials side that seems to be pushing our market very recently, and that seems to be wanting to carry on again,” said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod. “Obviously the demand is rather significant and it’s coming from all around the world.”

All but two of the TSX’s 10 main groups were higher. Bucking the trend were healthcare stocks, which fell 1.12 percent, and bank stocks, which were down 0.36 percent.

Another big gainer was the technology sector, which was up 2 percent. Research In Motion hit a 6-½ month closing high, up 1.67 percent at C$63.85, helped by recent positive analysts’ comments about its PlayBook tablet, which is due out next year.