U.S. stocks opened higher on Monday following the earlier-than-expected hand over of power in Iraq. Iraq’s interim government was given sovereignty two days early.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33.29 points to 10,405.13. The S&P 500 gained 3.63 points to 1,138.06. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 13.42 points to 2,038.89.

Toronto stocks also opened higher. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 32 points, to 8,528.79 soon after the market opened.

Canadian traders are waiting for the results of today’s federal election. South of the border investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve Board’s decision on interest rates due later this week.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

South of the border, U.S. consumers boosted their spending in May by the largest amount in more than two years.

The Commerce Department reported today that consumer spending rose by a sizable 1%, a sizeable increase from the 0.2% increase registered in April. The increase in May was the largest since October 2001, when spending rebounded after being depressed by the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Meanwhile, Americans’ incomes went up by 0.6% in May for the second straight month.

Economists had forecast a 0.8% increase in spending and a 0.5% rise in income growth.

Overnight in Asia, markets closed higher Monday, with prices rising in Tokyo for the third straight session. Tokyo’s Nikkei gained 103.66 points, or 0.88%, to 11,884.06 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 9.08 points to 12,194.6.

Markets ended mixed on Friday. In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite Index lost 33 points to 8,497.77. Despite the loss, the TSX benchmark index ended the week points 29.76 higher

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite fared better, but only slightly. It added 4.86 points to 1,585.18.

On Wall Street, only the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index finished in positive territory. It gained 9.90 points to close at 2,025.47. The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 71.97 points to 10,371.84, while the S&P 500 slid 6.33 points to close at 1,134.32.