North American stock markets started the second quarter on the upswing on strong manufacturing data in China and the U.S.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 125.97 points to 16,228.06.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 329.74 points at 26,258.42. The S&P 500 index was up 32.79 points at 2,867.19, while the Nasdaq composite was up 99.59 points at 7,828.91.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US74.98¢, up from an average of US74.83¢ on Friday.

The May crude contract was up US$1.45 at US$61.59 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up 4.6¢ at $2.71 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$4.30 at US$1,294.20 an ounce and the May copper contract was down 1.1 cents at US$2.92 a pound.