North American markets rallied Monday as investors went on a buying spree. The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 67.47 points to close at 6,717.50.

The information technology sector gained 2% and the financial index moved 1.3% higher during the session.

Gold stocks climbed 1.3% after the price of gold reached a two-month high on the back of a stumbling U.S. dollar.

Meridian Gold rose 4¢ to $15.47, while shares of Agnico-Eagle added 51¢ to close at $14.94.

Financials stocks also did well, with Scotiabank ahead $1.25 to $58.19 and Sun Life Financial up 60¢ to $28.25.
Among the most active TSX stocks, Bombardier shares rose 6¢ to $3.86 after the firm said it received a $2.2 billion order for 85 regional jets.

Magellan Aerospace climbed 42¢ to $2.59 after it won a $160 million contract to supply titanium engine exhaust nozzles for the Airbus A380 super-jumbo airliner.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index closed up 5.03 at 1070.11. Trading was active on a volume of 34 million shares worth $12.9 million, with 211 advances, 209 declines and 532 issues unchanged.

In New York, stocks climbed sharply as investors bought up shares in tech bellwethers Cisco Systems and Sun Microsystems.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index climbed 21.25 points to 1,541.40, its highest close since June. The Dow Jones industrial average surged 122.13 points to 8,726.73, and the S&P 500 index gained 11.7 points to 945.11.

The Canadian dollar closed at US71.95¢, up 0.12 of a cent from Friday’s close. Earlier in the day, the loone rose to US72.21¢ before pulling back.