North American stocks moved higher in midday trading, supported by an upbeat U.S. economic report on personal spending and rising oil prices.
At noon, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 40 points or 0.3 per cent, to 11,864. The broader S&P 500 was up 8 points or 0.6 per cent, to 1284.
Commodity producers led the gains, with energy stocks up 1.7 per cent and materials up 1.3 per cent. Among other gains, financials rose 0.9 per cent and industrials rose 0.8 per cent.
However, defensive stocks trailed. Consumer staples fell 0.4 per cent, telecom services fell 0.1 per cent and utilities rose just 0.1 per cent.
In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 111 points or 0.8 per cent, to 13,548.
Energy stocks were the big winners here, too, rising 1.8 per cent. However, materials were left out of the rally, retreating less than 0.1 per cent after gold producers fell with the price of gold.
In other moves, consumer discretionary stocks rose 0.9 per cent, financials rose 0.6 per cent and telecom services rose 0.5 per cent.