TORONTO - The Toronto stock market opened higher Friday as strong gains in commodity prices boosted the gold, base metals and energy sectors. The S&P/TSX composite index added 53.83 points to 12,254.16. This followed a report from Statistics Canada that the economy grew by 0.3 per cent in February, meeting economists' expectations. The agency said real gross domestic product was boosted by gains in manufacturing and mining. Meanwhile, the American economy grew at an annualized 3.2 per cent in the first three months of the year, slower than the expected pace of 3.4 per cent. However, some specific signals of economic improvement fared better than expected, with consumer spending increasing by 3.6 per cent, the strongest showing since early 2007. The Canadian dollar was little changed on the news, edging down 0.09 cent to 99.37 cents US. The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped 99 cents to US$86.16 a barrel following another strong gain on Thursday. The energy sector added 0.4 per cent while shares in Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) gained 19 cents to C$33.12. The June bullion contract gained $9.80 to US$1,178.60 an ounce while the gold sector jumped 1.52 per cent. Shares in Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) gained 77 cents to C$43.80. The May copper contract added 1.8 cents to US$3.35 a pound. Toronto's base metals sector added 1.03 per cent while shares in Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) gained 27 cents to C$40.97. The TSX Venture Exchange added 7.44 points to 1,667.40. New York markets found little direction from the GDP report. The Dow Jones industrial average added 9.82 points to 11,177.14. The S&P was down 1.40 points to 1,205.38, while the Nasdaq slipped 2.39 points to 2,509.53. All North American markets saw a boost Thursday after European Union officials said they expect to reach a bailout agreement for Greece within a few days. This moved closer to reality Friday as Greece heralded drastic new belt-tightening measures. Greece's finance minister is expected to detail the cuts this weekend. Officials briefed on the negotiations say the measures will include a further slash in civil service pay, as well as state and private sector pensions, and a new hike in indirect taxes, including a two percentage point increase in sales tax. In corporate news, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is again under scrutiny. The big Wall Street bank - which is already facing civil fraud charges for misrepresenting details about subprime mortgage securities - is now also the subject of a criminal investigation. In Canadian earnings, Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (TSX:FFH) reported a profit of US$290.2 million in its latest quarter, compared with a loss a year ago, helped by strong investment gains. Shares in Fairfax jumped $9.09 to C$377. Forestry company Domtar Corp. (TSX:UFS) said it booked a US$58-million profit during the first quarter, reversing a year-earlier loss on price increases and higher pulp, paper and wood shipments. Domtar's stock slipped 47 cents to $76.13. And Cogeco Inc. (TSX:CGO) said it will pay $80 million cash to buy the Quebec radio stations currently owned by Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX:CJR.B). The 11 Corus stations are in several cities throughout the province, including four in Montreal, two in Quebec and two in Sherbrooke. Shares in Cogeco slipped eight cents to $28.61 while shares in Corus added 23 cents to $20.69. European markets were mixed Friday. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.8 per cent, Germany's DAX index was flat, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.4 per cent. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 1.2 per cent while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.6 per cent.

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