TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index closed higher yesterday as a rally in oil and gold prices lured investors into the resource-heavy index while the Bank of Canada's confidence in the economy also added support.

A statement from the Bank of Canada ahead of the market open predicted faster-than-expected growth in Canada this year in what was considered a mostly upbeat release.

But it was energy and gold-mining shares that did the bulk of the heavy lifting in the latest session, a move credited to oil prices that extended a four-day rally and a rise in gold to back above $990 per ounce. The energy sector's 2.4 percent gain was powered by shares of Suncor Energy, which rallied 3.9 percent to C$36.15, followed by Canadian Natural Resources, which rose 2.5 percent to C$67.87.

The materials group ended up 2.5 percent, a move aided by Barrick Gold, which jumped three percent to C$40.99 and Goldcorp, whose shares rose three percent to C$43.99.

"Basically worldwide, whether you're looking at Europe or the United States, (equities) look like they're fixing to break out of their recent trading range and Canada is just following along," said Levente Mady, market strategist at Union Securities, in Vancouver.

"With the energy sector kind of leading the way here that's certainly helping the Canadian market outperform a little bit."

News that Canada's Conservative government pushed back by at least two years its officially projected return to having balanced budgets had no noticeable stock market impact.

The S&P/TSX composite index checked out of the session with a gain of 154.83 points, or 1.41 percent, at 11,155.00.

The higher close resumes a rally that was interrupted on Wednesday after Barrick and Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd earlier this week announced share offerings, news that experts said caused some people to sell stocks to pay for the new deals.

But most pullbacks in the TSX have been met with more buying, a pattern that has allowed the index to rise 49 percent above the five-year low it stumbled to in March.

"There's not doubt that equity markets ... have been in an uptrend and we've had very minor pullbacks and the markets seem to go down two to three percent and then turn straight around and go back up," said Mady.