The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index <.GSPTSE> closed up 63.64 points, or 0.42 percent, at 15,236.67, its highest close since Aug. 8.

It rose more than 1 percent last week.

"Things tend to drift up instead of down these days," said Peggy Bowie, senior trader at Manulife Asset Management. "People are looking for returns and income and they have nowhere to put their money."

Stocks on Wall Street also rose, helped by gains for financials ahead of a Federal Reserve meeting this week.

The U.S. central bank is set to announce the start of a plan to trim its $4.5-trillion portfolio of assets, much of it amassed in response to the 2007-09 financial collapse, marking another milestone in bringing the crisis-era measures to an end.

The energy group added 0.9 percent, boosted by a 3.4 percent gain for oil and natural gas producer Encana Corp (>> Encana Corp) to C$13.14.

U.S. crude oil prices edged up 2 cents to settle at $49.91 a barrel, after hovering near multimonth highs. [O/R]

The most influential movers on the index also included Potash Corp of Saskatchewan (>> Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc), which gained 3.5 percent to C$23.59, and Agrium Inc (>> Agrium Inc.), which was up 3.6 percent to C$132.65.

Last week, Canada's competition watchdog said it would not challenge a proposed merger between the two fertilizer companies.

Nine of the index's 10 main sector groups ended in positive territory, including a 0.8 percent gain for industrials as railroad stocks climbed.

Financials rose 0.3 percent, led by a 2.1 percent advance in the shares of Brookfield Asset Management Inc (>> Brookfield Asset Management Inc) to C$49.35.

IGM Financial (>> IGM Financial Inc.) climbed 4.3 percent to C$42.58 after BMO raised its rating to outperform from market perform and increased its target price.

A BMO cut on CI Financial Corp (>> CI Financial Corp) to market perform from outperform helped push it down 2.4 percent to C$26.78.

The materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners as well as fertilizer companies, added 0.2 percent.

The gold mining portion of the group weighed, with Kinross Gold Corp (>> Kinross Gold Corporation) falling 5.3 percent to C$5.57 after saying it would spend more than $1 billion to expand two gold mines.

Barrick Gold Corp (>> Barrick Gold Corp) fell 1.2 percent to C$20.81 as prices for bullion hit a 2-1/2-week low ahead of the Fed meeting and as global equities surged.

(Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp, editing by G Crosse)

By Fergal Smith