Toronto stocks soared to new record highs on Monday as mining shares got a lift from firm metal prices and a wave of merger activity.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 81.36 points, or 0.6%, at 13,659.98, a record closing high, after hitting a record high of 13,667.12 earlier in the session.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups were higher, with the resource-laden materials group up 1.1% on a a takeover bid for Algoma Steel and strength in underlying commodities, while the telecoms sector was up 2.2% on merger speculation around BCE.

The energy sector ended down 0.08%, while technology shares shed 0.3%.

Algoma shares jumped $1.33, or 2.5%, to $55.45 after India’s Essar Global said on Sunday it would buy Algoma for $1.85 billion.

Stelco, which is also considered a takeover target in the rapidly consolidating Canadian steel industry, soared $3.80, or 16.4%, to $27.

BCE climbed $1.42, or 4.1%, to $36.26 on a report that several of its institutional shareholders told the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan that they would support its efforts to buy the company. Shares of rival Telus were up $1.56, or 2.6%, at $62.65.

Also on the merger front, units of UE Waterheater Income Fund, owner of Union Energy LP, climbed $6.84, or 44%, to $22.55 after it said on Monday that Alinda Capital Partners LLC will buy it for about $1.74 billion.

The deal includes assets gained by UE in a takeover of Voxcom Income Fund, an Edmonton-based owner of security alarm services. Units of Voxcom rose $2.92, or 28.4%, to $13.21.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite inde was ahead 30.33 points to 3,349.73.

The Canadian dollar ran ahead 0.46 of a cent to a year to date high of US88.41¢.

In New York, stocks rallied as Citigroup results, a deal for student lender Sallie Mae and upbeat retail data suggested a strong economy.

Shares of Citigroup led advances in both the S&P 500 and the Dow. Wachovia Corp. the fourth-largest U.S. bank, also gained after posting results that beat expectations.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 108.33 points, or 0.86%, to end at 12,720.46. The S&P 500 jumped 15.62 points, or 1.08%, to finish at 1,468.47. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 26.39 points, or 1.06%, to close at 2,518.33.