Markets rebound from recent losses

North American financial markets reversed their recent directionand finished with gains Tuesday.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index gained 107.67 points, or 1.0 per cent, to finish at 11,200.17, just a day after ending with its lowest close of 2010.

The Dow Jones industrial average broke a seven-day slide, closing up 57.14, or 0.6 per cent, at 9743. The Dow had dropped 7.3 per cent in the past two weeks and on Friday closed at its lowest level since early October.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 5.48, or 0.5 per cent, to end trading at 1,028.06, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.09, or 0.1 per cent, to 2,093.88.

Investors bought despite disappointing economic reports.

Statistics Canada reported Canadian municipalities issued building permits worth $6 billion in May, a 10.8 per cent decline from April's level.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management's service sector index dipped to 53.8 last month from 55.4 in May.That reading still shows expansion, but at a slower rate than the 55 reading that had been expected.

The Canadian dollar closed up .82 cents at 94.72 cents US.

August crude oil fell 16 cents to $71.98 US per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while August gold lost $12.60 to $1,194.80 US an ounce.

Overseas markets rose.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 2.9 per cent, Germany's DAX index gained 2.2 per cent, and France's CAC-40 jumped 2.7 per cent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.8 per cent.