TSX extends rebound to 2 days with 300-point surge

Oil, the Canadian dollar and the Toronto stock market were all rallying today for the second consecutive day in late morning trading.

The loonie was at 70.70cents US, up 0.67 of cent from Thursday's close, which marked the first time in a week that the dollar settled above the 70-cent US mark.

• Looniegains a full cent to 70 cents US as oil rebounds above $29 US a barrel

Oil climbed to$31.76, an increase of $2.23. Two days ago, the main WTI contract was down as low as $26.

The Toronto Stock Exchange also surged by 287.02 points at 12,323.88. Earlier, it was up by more than 300 points.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 134.78 points at 16,017.46, the S&P 500 rose 27.38 points to 1,896.37 and theNasdaqgained 86.53 points at 4,558.59.

North American investors were taking their lead from Asia and Europe, which were both in a similar buying mood.

"Monetary easing speculation is providing a boost for Asian markets today," Angus Nicholson, market analyst at IG in Melbourne, said in a commentary. "Nowhere more so than in Japan."

Japan led the rebound as the Nikkei had its best single day in four years, just two days after entering bear market territory.

In Europe, France's CAC 40 added 3.0 per cent to 4,332.78 and Germany's DAX rose 2.0 per cent to 9,762.41 Britain'sFTSE100 climbed 2.23 per cent to 5,902.61.