It should be a quiet session on the Toronto Stock Exchange Monday with markets closed in the United States and the United Kingdom.

U.S. markets are closed for the Memorial Day holiday, while Britain enjoys a spring bank break.

In this morning’s economic news, Statistics Canada said real gross domestic product grew 0.6% in the first quarter of 2004, boosted by a resurgence of consumer spending and continued growth in exports.

Following a flat performance in January and February, the quarter ended on a strong note, as GDP shot up 0.7% in March.

According to StatsCan, this was the sharpest increase in monthly GDP since the bounce back from the power blackout in August 2003.

The government agency said renewed consumer spending and a pickup in the growth of business investment pushed domestic demand to 1.2%, twice the pace of the fourth quarter of 2003. Retailers reported widespread gains, as shoppers increased their purchases of everything from new motor vehicles to shoes. Inventories were built up, but at a much slower pace than in the previous seven quarters.

Overnight, Asian markets closed mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei fell 73.2 points to 11,236.37. Prices were pushed down by the rampage that killed 22 people, including foreigners, in the Saudi city of Khobar — the second such attack in less than a month.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 81.37 points to 12,198.24.

On Friday, financial and tech stocks sent the Toronto stock market slightly higher, helping the TSX rack up its second positive week in a row. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 3.48 points to 8,347.08 for a gain of 136.6 points.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index edged 2.92 points higher to 1,602.1.

New York’s Dow Jones industrial average backed off 16.75 points to 10,188.45 but still netted 221.71 points on the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite finished ahead 2.24 points at 1,986.74, up 74.65 points for the week partly because oil prices relaxed from earlier highs at the start of the week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was 0.6 of a point lower at 1,120.68.