Toronto stocks finished with modest gains Monday, as major M&A news overcame a poor day among financial stocks. The S&P/TSX composite index rose 23.38 points, or 0.22%, to close 10,525.49.

Volume on the senior exchange was 172 million shares.

The energy sector gained 0.96%.

Shares of Calgary-based oil company PetroKazakhstan Inc. gained $8.35, or 18.39%, to $53.75 after the company approved a US$4.18-billion takeover offer from a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corp.

The information technology sector rose 1.24%

According to a business television report, Research in Motion, makers of the Blackberry, agreed to a joint development deal with Intel Corp. RIM shares closed up $4.50, or 5.1%, at $93.09.

Light sweet crude for September delivery rose 10¢ to settle at US$65.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Western Oil Sands gained $1.12, or 3.93%, to $29.62.

The industrials sector was up 0.74%

CP Ships Ltd surged $1.85, or 7.84%, to $25.45 after the firm announced a $2.4 billion takeover offer from German company TUI AG.

The heavily weighed financial grouped slipped 0.44%. Shares of Bank of Montreal, which reports its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, fell 50¢, or 0.83%, to $60.00.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 10.34 points, or 0.74%, to $85.25.

In New York, markets endured a volatile day, but managed to settle in positive territory.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 10.66, or 0.1%, at 10,569.89, after lifting almost 82 points in early trading. The S&P500 index gained 2.02, or 0.17%, to 1,221,73, while the Nasdaq composite index advanced 5.85, or 0.27%, to 2,141.41.

In U.S. corporate news, Maytag Corp. signed a formal agreement to be acquired by rival appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. for more than US$1.7 billion in cash and stock. Maytag fell 2¢ to US$18.69, and Whirlpool declined 35¢ to US$81.48.

H.J. Heinz Co. reported its profit dropped 19% in the fiscal first quarter, but its earnings and sales bested Wall Street expectations, sending shares up 39 cents to $36.69.