TORONTO - The Toronto stock market registered a solid advance Wednesday as investors brushed aside unrest in the Middle East and a nuclear crisis in Japan and looked to positive jobs data and major news on the merger and acquisition front.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 153.23 points at 14,083.58 while the TSX Venture Exchange climbed 8.56 points to 2,286.44.

The Canadian dollar advanced against the greenback despite falling oil prices, ahead 0.35 of a US cent at 102.95 cents US.

The health sector led advancers as Canada's largest publicly traded drug company made a hostile US$5.7-billion cash bid for Pennsylvania-based biopharmaceutical company Cephalon Inc. (Nasdaq:CEPH). Valeant Pharmaceuticals International of Mississauga, Ont., (TSX:VRX) is offering US$73 per share in cash to Cephalon's shareholders.

Markets usually respond positively to M&A activity such as this because it tends to raise confidence in the overall market.

"It's telling you that the company (Valeant) is strong fundamentally to be able to do that and that the companies they're buying are going to be good viable candidate as well," said Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer at Russell Investments Canada Ltd.

Valeant shares moved up $5.24, or 12.1 per cent, to C$48.54 while Cephalon shares surged 28.41 per cent to US$75.44 in New York.

Adatia added it was also positive to see Valeant's share price take off, along with its target company, in light of its plans to borrow all of the money for the bid.

"Normally, you see the acquirer's stock drop and you're actually seeing the opposite, so this is going to be a very good merger of the two and it's a good sign," Adatia said.

The base metals sector was up almost two per cent even as the May copper contract on the Nymex fell seven cents to US$4.27 a pound. First Quantum (TSX:FM) rose $$1.70 to C$122.36.

Lundin Mining Corp. (TSX:LUN) and Inmet Mining Corp. (TSX:IMN) have agreed to call off their proposed merger. Lundin said it will "actively and aggressively" look for alternatives to the Inmet merger and a hostile takeover offer from Equinox Minerals. Lundin shares rose 37 cents to $7.96 while Inmet gained $4.17 to $66.62. Equinox shares gained 15 cents to $5.63.

Meanwhile, the energy sector rose 0.72 per cent as oil prices declined following a report that showed U.S. crude supplies rose more than expected last week, suggesting rising fuel costs may be crimping demand.

The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange closed down 52 cents at US$104.27 a barrel. Cenovus Energy (TSX:CVE) gained 72 cents to C$38.21 and Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) improved 41 cents to C$47.99.

Energy markets have been rattled by pro-democracy uprisings that have cut oil exports from Libya and threatened disruptions of crude supplies from major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Iran, resulting in oil going as high as US$106 last week.

The gold sector was up as the June bullion contract in New York ran ahead $7.40 to US$1,424.90 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) gained 70 cents to C$50.08 and Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) was up 75 cents at C$48.09.

Financials also contributed to the strong showing as TD Bank (TSX:TD) rose $1.56 to $86.40 and National Bank (TSX:NA) rose $1.51 to $78.81 as it told shareholders at its annual meeting that it planned further dividend increases while growing through acquisitions.

Markets have proved resilient in recent weeks despite a civil war in Libya and a disastrous earthquake and tsunami in Japan as investors look to improving economic conditions in North America and China. It's hoped that a strong U.S. non-farm employment report for March will reinforce that view. The report is being released on Friday,

Payroll company ADP reported Wednesday that the U.S. private sector created about 201,000 jobs in March. That is roughly in line with expectations for Friday's report.

The ADP report helped push New York markets higher as the Dow Jones industrial average gained 71.6 points to 12,350.61.

The Nasdaq composite index was up 19.9 points at 2,776.79 while the S&P 500 index gained 8.82 points to 1,328.26.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 2.6 per cent to 9,708.79, its highest level since a tsunami smashed into the country's northeast. The disaster caused a nuclear power plant to malfunction and leak toxic radiation into the air, water and soil.

The Nikkei was boosted by a steadily weakening yen and data showing the country's industrial production climbed for the fourth straight month in February. Still, the government warned that industrial production would fall sharply as the effects of the tsunami and the earthquake that spawned it continue to be felt.

In other corporate news, shares in Rockgate Capital Corp. (TSXA:RGT) fell 37 cents or 20.9 per cent to $1.40 after the company handed in a disappointing drilling report on a diamond project in Mali, West Africa.

Magellan Aerospace Corp. (TSX:MAL) shares gained 30 cents or 7.41 per cent to $4.35 in the first trading since the Toronto-area company announced its 2010 financial results. Magellan reported net income in the fourth quarter soared to $8.14 million or 16 cents per share, more than three times higher than a year earlier. Revenue was up 13.4 per cent to $188 million.