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TORONTO - The Toronto Stock market picked up momentum with broad gains in afternoon trading despite sagging crude oil and gold prices, and the Canadian dollar moved higher.

New York markets were also ahead, partly on relief that the American economy shrank less than expected during the third quarter.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index was up 151.47 points at 9,653.03, following two days of triple-digit gains that pushed the main index up nearly 1,000 points or 11 per cent since Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 193.55 points to 9,184.51 after the U.S. Commerce Department said gross domestic product shrank at a 0.3 per cent annual rate in the July-September quarter as consumers cut their spending by the biggest amount in 28 years.

It was the worst GDP showing since the economy contracted at a 1.4 per cent pace in the third quarter of 2001, during the last recession. But it was better than the 0.5 per cent pullback expected by private-sector economists.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.88 cent US rising to 82.51 cents US after surging 3.67 cents yesterday. The loonie had continued to rise a further two cents in overseas trading but gave up some of its gains when the North American markets opened.

The TSX Venture Exchange moved up 16.89 points to 875.21.

New York's Nasdaq composite index gained 40.07 points to 1,697.28 while the S&P 500 rose 22.66 points to 952.75 a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its main interest rate by half a point to stimulate the economy.

The Toronto stock market got a lift from the energy sector, though oil prices were trading weaker than earlier in the session.

The TSX oil and gas group was ahead 0.73 per cent, down sharply from earlier levels after the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped back $1.26 to US$66.24 a barrel, after going as high as $70.60 overnight following a gain of almost $5 on Wednesday.

Bullion dropped $12.70 to US$741.30 an ounce, though the TSX gold gained 0.12 per cent.

Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) rose 39 cents to $28.29 after reporting third-quarter net income of US$254 million, down from $345 million a year earlier. The Toronto-headquartered global gold giant said that excluding $97 million in one-time charges, it earned $351 million or 40 cents per share, a nickel short of analyst EPS expectations.

Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) gained 33 cents to $23.17.

EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA) ran up $1.80 to $61 while Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) improved 93 cents to $59.18.

In New York, Exxon Mobil Corp. was ahead 17 cents to US$74.47 as it broke its own record for the biggest profit from operations by a U.S. corporation. The world's biggest publicly traded oil company earned $14.83 billion in the third quarter, bolstered by the summer's record crude prices.

The TSX base metals sector advanced 5.6 per cent while the December copper contract dipped 15 cents to US$1.876 a pound after surging 23 cents in the previous session.

Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) rose 54 cents to $12.89.

The TSX financial sector was up 0.72 per cent as Royal Bank (TSX:RY) gained $1.47 to $46.90.

Cogeco Inc. (TSX:CGO) has shaved its outlook for next year while it posted $9.7 million in profit for the quarter ended Aug. 31, down from a year-ago profit of $30.4 million which was enhanced by one-time gains. Shares dropped 39 cents to $23.99.

Canaccord Capital Inc. (TSX:CCI) dropped 20 cents to $5.65 after it disclosed it is laying off about 10 per cent of its staff -- roughly 170 people -- and cutting executive salaries by 10 to 20 per cent.

Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII) booked third-quarter earnings of $3.7 million, up from $3.5 million a year earlier, despite financial-market turmoil that cut its assets under management by 27 per cent to $5.6 billion during the quarter. Shares in the resource-heavy Toronto money manager added 32 cents to $3.60, down from their May issue price of $10.

TransForce Inc. (TSX:TFI) hauled in a 23 per cent rise in third-quarter revenue at $595.5 million and increased its pre-tax profit by 31 per cent to $38.4 million despite "weak" trucking and logistics industry conditions. Its net income was cut by heavy tax provisions following its conversion from an income trust, but its stock moved ahead 40 cents to $5.00.

Motorola Inc. posted a hefty loss in the third quarter due to continued troubles in its cellphone division. The maker of communications gear lost $397 million against earnings of US$60 million a year ago. Motorola shares fell 35 cents to US$5.11.