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Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, waits to begin a Senate Banking Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015. Yellen said inflation and wage growth remain too low even as the job market improves, and she signalled that a change in the Fed's guidance on interest rates won't lock it into a timetable for tightening.Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

The Toronto stock market was higher Tuesday as earnings from Bank of Montreal missed forecasts while U.S. Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen continued to lay the groundwork for a hike in interest rates.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 57.13 points to 15,257.39 as resource stocks advanced amid higher prices for oil and metals.

Bank of Montreal posted lower earnings amid an "unsettled environment" that saw the bank deal with "significant movements in oil prices, long-term interest rates and the Canadian dollar." Its adjusted net income was $1.04-billion or $1.53 a share, a dime short of estimates and its shares were down $1.20 to $76.18. Most other bank stocks were lower as traders anticipate earnings from the other four of the six major lending institutions reporting this week will report similar issues.

"Across the rest of the Canadian banks, we will see a lacklustre or challenging or slower growth environment from personal and commercial banking," said Colum McKinley, Canadian Equities Manager at CIBC Asset Management.

The Canadian dollar edged up 0.1 of a U.S. cent to 79.62 cents.

U.S. indexes also advanced as the Fed's Janet Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee the Fed will continue to be patient in deciding when to hike interest rates. And she added that before rates go up, the central bank would drop this assurance.

There has been much speculation the bank could move on raising rates as early as June.

"Over time, if the U.S. economy continues to accelerate, we will inevitably get to the point where rates will move higher but the Fed is still managing that process of setting expectations around when that could happen and what it would look like," added McKinley.

The Dow Jones industrials gained 86.6 points to 18,203.44, the S&P 500 index edged up 6.11 points to 2,115.77 while the Nasdaq climbed 5.1 points to 4,966.07.

The TSX energy sector was ahead 0.6 per cent while oil prices gained 58 cents to $50.03 (U.S.) a barrel.

March copper was up seven cents to $2.66 a pound and the base metals sector rose 3.5 per cent.

The gold sector was off 0.25 per cent while April gold faded $2.60 to $1,198.20 an ounce.

Other stocks to watch include Canadian National Railway. The Montreal-based company arrived at a tentative agreement Monday with Unifor, which represents about 4,800 mechanical, intermodal and clerical workers, less than an hour after the railway's 11 p.m. ET deadline to lock out the union's members. CN climbed 20 cents to $86.92 (Canadian).

Fertilizer company Agrium Inc. turned in quarterly net earnings of $51-million (U.S.) or 33 cents a share, down from $99-million or 66 cents in the same 2013 period. Sales revenue fell by $162-million to $2.7-billion from just under $2.9-billion. Its shares ran ahead $5.53 to $143.55 (Canadian).

There was also positive news for the euro zone. Greece's creditors in the 19-country currency union have approved a list of reforms Athens proposed to get a four-month extension to its bailout, which should keep the country afloat over the coming months.

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