North American stock markets surged for the first time since the start of the coronavirus following hefty liquidity injections from the world’s largest central banks.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 132.97 points at 17,512.73.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 407.82 points at 28,807.63. The S&P 500 index was up 48.67 points at 3,297.59, while the Nasdaq composite was up 194.57 points or 2.1 per cent at 9,467.97.

The Canadian dollar traded for US75.31¢ compared with an average of US75.33¢ on Monday.

The March crude contract was down US50¢ at US$49.61 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was up US5.3¢ at US$1.87 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was down US$26.90 at US$1,555.50 an ounce and the March copper contract was up US3.5¢ at US$2.54 a pound.