North American stocks rose modestly at the start of trading on Monday, with commodity producers showing some of the biggest gains.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 17 points or 0.2 per cent, to 11,509. The broader S&P 500 rose 3 points or 0.3 per cent, to 1247. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index rose 61 points or 0.5 per cent, to 13,263.
Bank of America Corp. and Caterpillar Inc. rose 0.8 per cent each, while Chevron Corp. rose 0.7 per cent. However, Boeing Co. fell 1.4 per cent, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fell 0.8 per cent and Intel Corp. fell 0.4 per cent.
Among Canadian stocks, Talisman Energy Inc. rose 1.9 per cent after the energy producer sold a 50 per cent interest in its Farrell Creek gas field to Sasol Ltd.
Other commodity producers also showed strong early gains after the price of gold and crude oil moved higher. Oil rose to $88.59 (U.S.) a barrel, up 51 cents. Gold rose to about $1,387 an ounce, up $7. Suncor Energy Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. rose 0.9 per cent each, while Barrick Gold Corp. rose 1 per cent