Toronto stocks moved higher Monday, as a strong day in the resource sectors, buoyed by merger news in the U.S. mining sector, lifted the market overall.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 43.76, or 0.35%, to 12,416.63.

Seven of the 10 TSX main groups were up.

The materials sector gained 0.90%, while the diversified metals and mining sub-sector gained 3.16%.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. made a US$52.9 billion friendly offer for Phelps Dodge Corp., which would create the world’s biggest publicly traded copper miner. Investors bid up other mining companies on heightened expectations of other mergers and acquisitions in the sector. In New York, Phelps Dodge stock rose 27%, while Freeport fell 3%.

Ivanhoe Minerals Ltd. gained 27¢, or 2.59%, to $10.70.

Gold for December delivery closed down 40¢ at US$622.10 an ounce. Iamgold Corp. fell 4¢, or 0.39%, to $10.27.

The energy sector was up 0.52%.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery closed down 17¢ at US$58.80 a barrel.

In Canadian M&A activity, TD Bank shares were down 30¢ to $67.45 after the bank announced its $3.6 billion bid to privatize TD Banknorth.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.06 of a cent to US87.16¢.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange moved up 16.92, or 0.65%, to 2,630.50.

In New York, markets were mixed as investors took in good corporate earnings news and the lower price of oil, but also elected to take a breather after several sessions of gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 26.02 points at 12,316.54, the S&P 500 fell 0.70 of a point to 1,400.50 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 6.86 points to 2,452.72.