The Toronto stock market closed higher Thursday amid investor relief that the European Union stands ready to help Greece deal with its huge debt problem in order to prevent a default.

The S&P/TSX composite index ran up 149.16 points to 11,435.49.

The Canadian dollar rose 1.06 cents to 95.13 cents US.

Investors had been nervous ahead of Thursday's meeting of EU leaders and European Central Bank president Jean Claude Trichet about what the group would do about Greece's unsustainable level of deficits.

EU President Herman Van Rompuy said countries that use the euro were ready to take "co-ordinated measures" if necessary to help Greece stave off default.

There was some disappointment that the deal didn't include a sign of solid financial backing for Greece. But some analysts suggested it was unrealistic to expect much more from the EU at this point.

"It's very difficult at this early stage to come out with anything that has a lot of meat -- and I think the people in the marketplace who were expecting that were bound to be disappointed," said Norman Raschkowan, chief investment officer at Mackenzie Financial Corp.

"What you do have is a recognition on the part of Greece's EU partners that they do have to do something; that it is their problem too. And I think that's really important. As long as you've got them recognizing that, they can't sort of leave Greece to fend for itself. That's a positive statement."

A Greek default would be a serious blow to Europe's monetary union, and fears that Athens might not be able to pay its debts have already led markets to demand higher borrowing costs for Greece. Markets have also been worried that the contagion could spread to other countries that have racked up huge debts, such as Portugal and Spain.

The TSX financial sector shed losses from early nervousness about Greece's debt issue, ending the day up 0.6 per cent. However, shares in some of Canada's big life insurance companies lost ground following disappointing earnings results.

Sun Life Financial (TSX:SLF) shares fell 96 cents to $30.40 after it said Thursday that quarterly profit more than doubled to $296 million or 52 cents a share in the last quarter of 2009. However, that's less than the 65 cents a share that analysts expected.

Manulife Financial Corp. (TSX:MFC) reported a profit of $868 million in the fourth quarter, the equivalent of 51 cents per common share. That's an improvement from a year-earlier loss of $1.87-billion, or $1.24 per share, but its shares moved down 34 cents to $19.16.

"Sun and Manulife came out with decent earnings, they were just less than expected," added Raschkowan.

"There's a cloud that hangs over the insurers these days and the market's reaction is more a reflection of that than the specific results."

Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSX:GWO), saw it shares rise 27 cents to $26.77 after the company reported profit of $443 million, or 47 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31. That was down from $525 million, or 59 cents per share, in the same period of 2008. However, the earnings beat expectations.

Elsewhere in the sector, TD Bank (TSX:TD) rose 88 cents to $65.31.

The base metals sector was the big winner, up 4.95 per cent as the March copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was ahead 14 cents to US$3.13 a pound. Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) ran ahead $2.16 to C$37.70 while HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) rose $1.07 to $13.52.

The April bullion contract on the Nymex rose $18.40 to US$1,094.70 an ounce, taking the gold sector up 2.95 per cent. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) gained $1.04 to C$38.94 and Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) climbed $1.22 to $39.41.

The TSX energy sector was ahead 1.48 per cent as the March crude contract climbed 76 cents to US$75.28 a barrel. Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) climbed $1.40 to C$70.50.

Canada's largest natural gas producer, EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA), saw its fourth-quarter profit fall 41 per cent as lower natural gas prices took a bite out of its top line. EnCana, which split off its oil division last year as Cenovus (TSX:CVE), earned a fourth-quarter profit of US$636 million, compared with $1.08 billion in the same period a year ago.

Stripping out the impact of the oil assets that were spun off into Cenovus, EnCana said operating earnings fell to 50 cents per share from 73 cents. But its stock moved 60 cents higher to C$33.07.

Cenovus also handed in its first earnings report since being spun off from EnCana, showing that the company had net income of C$24 million and operating earnings of $152 million in the fourth quarter. Its shares climbed 71 cents to $25.45.

The consumer discretionary sector was the leading decliner as shares in Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd. (TSX:CTC.A) fell $3.31 to $51.85 after it reported net income for the fourth quarter came in at $96.2 million, down from $101.5 million a year earlier. Operating revenue in the 13 weeks ended Jan. 2 was $2.44 billion, down from $2.59 billion in a 14-week quarter a year earlier.

The TSX Venture Exchange added 15.89 points to 1,492.67.

New York markets were higher as a sharp drop in the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance last week also encouraged buyers.

The U.S. Labour Department said that first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 440,000. Economists had been expecting a drop to 465,000.

New York's Dow Jones industrial average gained 105.81 points to 10,144.19.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 29.54 points to 2,177.41 while the S&P 500 climbed 10.34 points to 1,078.47.

In other earnings news, Yellow Pages Income Fund (TSX:YLO.UN) said its net income in the fourth quarter rose 24 per cent to $124.6 million or five cents a share. However the Montreal-based publisher of advertising directories added that its fourth-quarter revenue fell 4.7 per cent compared with a year earlier to $405.7 million. Its units rose 21 cents to $5.39.

Sierra Wireless Inc. (TSX:SW) shares tumbled $2.55 or 20.45 per cent to $9.92 after the company reported a loss of US$2.7 million in its latest quarter, weighed down by restructuring costs and the costs of integrating its Wavecom acquisition. The results and the company's earnings guidance missed analyst expectations.