North American markets posted broad-based gains Monday as crude oil prices slipped and technology issues advanced.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite Index closed ahead 48.64 points, or 0.52%, to close at 9,416.13.

Volume was 152 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX group moved higher. Financials and telecoms dipped 0.1%.

The information technology was up 2.4%. Nortel gained 10¢ to $3.43; Celestica added 45¢ to $15.14.

Research in Motion jumped $4.33 to $85.28 as it announced deals to introduce its BlackBerry mobile communications device in Romania.

The TSX energy group lost much of its early gains as crude futures fell back from the US$56 a barrel they hit in early trading. Crude futures closed in New York at US$54.57, down 82¢.

EnCana rose 64¢ to $83.39; Petro-Canada added $1.23¢ to $72.

PetroKazakhstan surged $3.19 to $41.40 after it announced plans to buy back up to five% of its shares.

South of the border, shares of refinery giant Premcor jumped after Valero Energy agreed to acquire its rival for $6.9 billion US.

In other company news, biotech company Isotechnika saw its shares rise 7¢ to $2.80 on news that preliminary phase III clinical trials of its ISA247 drug looked promising in the treatment of severe psoriasis.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slid 8.21 points, or 0.47%, to close at 1,743.26.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 84.76 points, or 0.83%, to end at 10,242.47.

The Dow got a further lift after the release of new data showing the sales of existing U.S. homes rose in March to near-record levels. The median selling price of a U.S. home is up 11.4% since March of last year.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 18.60 points, or 0.96%, to 1,950.80. The S&P/ 500 added 9.98 points, or 0.87%, to end at 1,162.10.