Toronto's main stock index was up more than 2% on Monday morning as resource issues jumped on hopes that Europe will unveil new measures to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis.
The S&P TSX Composite Index approached noon ahead 247.68 points, or 2.2%, to 11,709.74, the biggest jump for the index since October 27.
The Canadian dollar advanced 0.99 cents to 96.82 U.S. cents.
Rising oil, gold and copper prices helped Canadian stocks rally after dropping 4% last week.
Canadian Natural Resources led the energy sector's gains, jumping 5.8% to $35.92. Suncor Energy was also among the biggest risers, up 3.8% to $29.19.
The heavily weighted materials sector was buoyed by higher gold and copper prices. Both hit one-week highs on hopes a meeting among euro-zone ministers on Tuesday would pave the way for a 440-billion-euro bailout fund, guided by the European Financial Stability Facility.
Among the sector's leaders were First Quantum Minerals, up more than 10% at $18.75, and Barrick Gold, up 3.1% at $51.57.
Toronto's consumer discretionary sector edged up. Canadian Tire Corp was among the top performers, rising 0.5% to $63.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange hiked 23.19 points to 1,528.33, while the Nasdaq Canada index jumped 12.30 points to 384.90.
All 14 Toronto subgroups were in the green at noon Monday. Metals and mining gathered 6.2%, global base metals spiked 4.8%, and energy stocks surged 3.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks posted sharp gains Monday, following reports of strong Black Friday weekend sales and amid optimism that European leaders may be working toward a solution to the continent's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrials broke for lunch ahead 310.68 points, or 2.8%, to 11,542.50
The S&P 500 grew 36.04 points, to 1,194.71, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 88.25 points to 2,529.76
The advance broke a four-day losing streak for the Dow, and seven consecutive days of declines for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
The rally was broad, with all Dow and Nasdaq components gaining ground. All but a small handful of the S&P 500 were also trading higher.
Financials were among the biggest winners, with Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America surging between 3% and 7%.
Shares of Amazon jumped after the online retailer said it sold four times more Kindles during this Black Friday weekend than the same period last year.
Apple shares also rose after the retailer saw strong Black Friday sales, with reports showing that customers bought 14.8 iPads per hour, up 68% year-over-year. Customers bought 10.1 Macs per hour, up 23% from 2010.
The mood on Wall Street was cheerful after major retailers reported record sales of $52.4 billion U.S. over Black Friday weekend -- up 16% from last year -- according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.
Retailers like Wal-Mart, Kohl's, Costco, Target, Gap and Home Depot were up between 1% and 3%, while Best Buy, Macy's, Tiffany & Co. and Saks Inc. climbed between 3% and 6%.
Experts are optimistic that European leaders and policymakers will draw up a plan before the end of the year, especially now that Germany is starting to feel the pinch as a result of its neighbours' severe debt struggles.
Last week, Germany, Europe's largest and healthiest economy, sold only €3.6 billion of the €6-billion 10-year bunds it had hoped to auction.
On Monday, investors appeared to shrug off a warning by Moody's that the intensifying European debt crisis could lead to a downgrade of the region's sovereign debt.
Economically speaking, new home sales rose 1.3% to an annual rate of 307,000 in October. Economists were expecting the annual rate to come in at 312,000.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury faded, with the yield bolting to 2.03% from 1.96% from Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil for January delivery perked $1.38 to $98.15 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped $26.79 to $1,712.49 U.S. per ounce.
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