North American stock markets enjoyed a strong bounce-back on Tuesday -- following some hefty losses a day earlier -- as hope emerged that debt-ridden Greece might get some help from its neighbours.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 158.94 points, or 1.43%, to 11,274.24. Most sectors were up, including financials, energy and materials.

That followed 1% losses Monday on the TSX composite index and the Dow Jones industrial average in the U.S.

The TSX Venture composite index was up 13.93 points, or 0.95%, to 1,474.53 on Tuesday.

There was speculation Tuesday that the European Union was prepared to come to the aid of Greece, which is facing a debt crisis. Concerns about climbing debt in Greece, Portugal and Spain have been cited as a main factor in market losses around the world recently.

Colin Cieszynski, an analyst with CMC Markets Canada, said in a research note Tuesday that “should Greece falter, other countries such as Portugal, Spain and more could follow like dominoes and potentially derail the economic recovery in Europe. Similarly, whatever measures end up being taken to shore up Greece may also be applied to other EU countries that run into difficulty.”

He added: “The other key concern is that the problems faced by Greece and other smaller countries related to government spending and big deficits could eventually be faced by larger countries such as the U.S. or U.K.”

Commodity prices were up Tuesday as the U.S. dollar was down. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil gained US$1.86 to US$73.75 a barrel, while gold was ahead by US$11 to US$1,077.20 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar was up 57 basis points to 93.64 cents US.

The stock of miner Teck Resources Ltd. was up 5.13% after it reported a fourth-quarter profit of $411-million, compared with a loss of $607-million a year earlier, providing the results after markets closed on Monday.

Fertilizer producer Agrium Inc. was also ahead after it posted on Tuesday fourth-quarter profit of US$30-million, down from US$124-million a year earlier, though it still topped estimates. Agrium stock gained 4.43% on Tuesday.

U.S. markets were also up after McDonald’s Corp. reported better-than-expected January sales, and Coco-Cola Co. met analysts’ expectations with its fourth-quarter earnings. McDonald’s finished the day up 1.03% in New York, while Coke shares gained 2.58%.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 150.25 points, or 1.52%, to 10,058.64. The Nasdaq composite index was ahead by 24.82 points, or 1.17%, to 2,150.87.

The most prominent European and Asian markets were up, except in Japan, where the Nikkei index fell 0.19%.

Canwest News Service