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North American stock markets started the week higher on fading concerns about the novel coronavirus as Chinese factories set to reopen.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 85.08 points at 17,740.57.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 174.31 points at 29,276.82. The S&P 500 index was up 24.38 points at 3,352.09, while the Nasdaq composite was up 107.88 points at 9,628.39.

The Canadian dollar traded for US75.08¢ compared with an average of US75.16¢ on Friday.

The March crude contract was down US75¢ at US$49.57 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down US9.2¢ at US$1.77 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$6.10 at US$1,579.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 0.25 of a cent at US$2.55 a pound.