North American stock markets head higher

Pedestrians in Toronto pass a board showing the TSX up more than 600 points on Monday. (Robin Rowland/CBC)

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped more than 688 points in Monday trading amid higher prices for oil.

The TSX rose just over seven per cent on the day, finishing at 10,251.40.

The energy sub-index was up more than 14 per cent, alongside a rise of $2.40 US in the price of a barrel of oil to close at $74.25 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil was up in anticipation of a production cut by OPEC to be announced at the end of the week.

Gold stocks benefited from slightly higher prices for the precious metal. Gold gained $2.50 US to close at $787.60 US an ounce. The gold sub-index shot up more than 12 per cent.

The TSX financial stocks sub-index finished with a gain of over five per cent.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was up more than 413 points, or 4.7 per cent, at 9,265.43, while the Nasdaq enjoyed a rise of more than 58 points to end at 1,770.03. The broader S&P 500 index added 44.85 points to conclude the day at 985.40.

Earlier in the day, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told the U.S. Congress that he favoured another stimulus package to bolster the U.S. economy.

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