TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock index shot through the 10,000-mark to its highest close in six months yesterday as resource and financial issues led a rally fueled by optimism that the global economy is stabilising.

Aiding the sentiment was stronger-than-expected economic data from Canada and the US, particularly a private-sector US employment report that showed job losses slowed dramatically last month

In Canada, purchasing activity rose and building permits surged unexpectedly

Seven of the index's 10 main sectors rose. The energy and materials groups climbed 4.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively, as oil jumped $2.50 to a five-month high of $56.34 a barrel and US gold settled up $6.70 at $911.00 an ounce.

The financial group gained 3.1 percent.

Those sectors make up nearly three-quarters of the index's weighting, and helped push the market to its highest intraday level since November 5, and its highest close since November 4.

"I think, psychologically, it's very important because investors use nice round numbers like 10,000 as benchmarks on where the market is," said Kate Warne, Canadian market strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis, Missouri.

"It's greater confidence that even if the world economy isn't at the bottom now it's getting very close, and that we're beginning to see signs that things may start improving."

However, Ms Warne and other market watchers are wary of calling the end of the market downturn.

"Nobody knows, ever, what the market is going to do short-term, and I certainly wouldn't expect the market continue to move higher every day on optimism," added Ms Warne.

Still, the TSX is up about 30 percent from March lows and yesterday investors looked past weak domestic corporate results in health care, auto parts and the once-high-flying fertilizer sector to bid the market higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 262.71 points, or 2.7 percent, at 10,143.43. Earlier, it had climbed to 10,158.2.

Top gainers moving the overall index were Manulife Financial, up 5.4 percent at C$22.74, and Suncor Energy, up 7.2 percent at C$35.19. Royal Bank of Canada climbed 3.1 percent to C$45.