North American markets opened slightly lower, with a few U.S. heavy-weight stocks dragging the indexes down, flashing red and green in early trading until about 10:00 A.M. when a modest rally got under way.
The Dow Jones industries index rose 34.47 points to 11,168.66; the S&P 500 rose 3.36 points to 1,212.03; and the Nasdaq rose 6.34 to 2,525.45.
The S&P/TSX index climbed 46.06 points to 2,521.88.
Dragging the Dow Jones lower in early trading were Verizon Communications Inc., Bank of America, Boeing Inc., Travelers Cos. Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The shares of American Express Co. shares rose 3.76 per cent and Caterpillar Inc. rose 1.7 per cent.
On the S&P/TSX, the mining and oil and gas shares generally started the day lower, before climbing higher.
The U.S. durable goods orders for March released Friday showed continued strength in primary metals, machinery, computers and electrical equipment sectors.