TORONTO -

The Toronto stock market was higher Friday after Libya declared a ceasefire in its fight against rebel forces and G7 countries embarked on a co-ordinated effort to stabilize financial markets by reining in the soaring Japanese yen.

The S&P/TSX composite index moved 70.53 points higher to 13,816.67 after Libya's foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, said the country was declaring an immediate ceasefire and stopping all military operations against rebel forces.

The TSX Venture Exchange rose 39.24 points to 2,228.61.

Crude prices backed off following the announcement with the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down 86 cents at US$100.56 a barrel.

The ceasefire announcement came after the UN Security Council on Thursday authorized "all necessary measures" short of a ground offensive to stop the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from snuffing out a month-long uprising.

Fierce fighting in Libya has damaged oil operations and cut most of the OPEC country's 1.6 million barrels a day of crude output.

Oil had also risen over the last two sessions amid a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters in Bahrain, raising concerns about supply disruptions from the Persian Gulf.

The TSX energy sector rose 0.47 per cent with Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE) ahead 39 cents at C$36.80 while Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) gave back 37 cents to C$47.86.

The Canadian dollar advanced after G7 countries, including Canada, pledged concerted intervention to halt the yen's rise. The loonie was up 0.32 of a cent at 101.71 cents US.

The yen surged to record highs this week due to its status as a safe haven for investors -- even when the emergency is in Japan -- and expected repatriation of funds for reconstruction. But a more expensive currency was the last thing Japan needed after a massive earthquake and tsunami wiped out much of its industrial northeast and heavily damaged a nuclear power plant.

The loonie also rose amid data showing lower inflation. Statistics Canada says annual inflation edged down one-tenth of a point to 2.2 per cent in February.

Investors also kept a wary eye on Japan's nuclear crisis as military fire trucks sprayed seawater for a second day on the stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in an attempt to prevent its fuel from overheating and spewing dangerous radiation.

The nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., hopes to finish laying a new power line to the plant on Friday to allow operators to restore cooling systems. But it is not clear if the cooling systems will still function.

The April gold contract on the Nymex was up $14.90 to US$1,419.10 an ounce, sending the gold sector up almost 0.63 per cent. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) was ahead 24 cents at C$48 while Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) advanced nine cents to C$14.43.

Financials also provided support, led by insurers. Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC) gained 22 cents to $16.65 while Sun Life Financial (TSX:SU) improved by 47 cents to $30.73.

The base metals sector was ahead 0.24 per cent with copper prices unchanged after hopes for higher demand resulting from Japanese reconstruction had pushed the metal up 15 cents to US$4.34 a pound on Thursday. Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) was off 43 cents at C$53.29 while Equinox Minerals (TSX:EQN) rose 16 cents to C$5.22.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 2.7 per cent following the G7 moves to stabilize the yen, capping a turbulent week that saw the Japanese market lose 16 per cent Monday and Tuesday.

New York markets also moved higher with the Dow Jones industrial average ahead 117.23 points at 11,891.82.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 14.3 points to 2,650.35 while the S&P 500 index was up 11.27 points at 1,284.99.

In corporate news, shares in Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) rose 38 cents to $33.46 after the natural gas company agreed to buy a big stake in a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the B.C. coast. Encana did not say how much it will pay for a 30 per cent interest in the Kitimat terminal, which would allow Canadian natural gas to be turned into a liquid and shipped overseas.

First Uranium Corp. (TSX:FIU) says it has resumed production at its Ezulwini gold mine in South Africa after a worker there died in an accident last weekend. Its shares jumped nine cents to 88 cents.

Cisco Systems Inc. said that its first-ever cash dividend will amount to six cents per share and will be paid out starting in April. The company has said since last year that it would start paying a dividend equating to an annual yield of one to two per cent, but had not specified the amount or precise timing.

Shares in the company, the world's largest maker of computer networking gear, rose 30 cents to US$17.30.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 per cent while the Shenzhen Composite Index for China's second, smaller exchange gained 0.6 per cent to 1,292.93.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose marginally and South Korea's Kospi was up 1.1 per cent.

European bourses were also higher with London's FTSE 100 index up 0.67 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX gained one per cent and the Paris CAC 40 rose 1.31 per cent.