Stock markets show some signs of life after Brexit doldrums

Stock markets recovered somewhatTuesday aftertwo days of losses following the so-called Brexit vote.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index gained152.90 points to finish at 13,842.69.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose by 269.48points to end at 17,409.72, the broader S&P 500 composite index advanced 35.55points to 2,036.09and the Nasdaq composite gained 97.43points to close at4,691.87.

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The Canadian dollar closed at76.72cents US, up 0.23of a cent from Monday's close.

The Augustlight sweetcrude contract settled Tuesday with a gain of $1.52at $47.85US per barrel and July natural gas was up 14.9cents at $2.89US per mmBTU.

The August gold contract fell $6.80 to $1,317.90US an ounce, after gaining more than $60 US since the Brexit vote. TheSeptembercopper contractrose five cents to $2.17US a pound.

European markets climb

Britain's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 both climbed 2.6per cent. Germany's DAX gained 1.9per cent.

The euro and the British pound both movedhigher, though the pound remained near its lowest levels since 1985.

Uncertainty and anxiety over the economic fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union has roiled global financial markets since Friday and prompted ratings agencies to slash their top-shelf credit rating for the U.K.

Investors appeared to shake off their some of their jitters ahead of Tuesday's meeting between British Prime Minister David Cameron and his European Union counterparts. Cameron has signalled he might not trigger a clause setting in motion the U.K.'s exit from the EU before October.

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In the U.S., a new batch of economic data helped put traders in a buying mood.

The Commerce Department raised its estimate of U.S. economic growth in the first three months of the year. Separately, a key gauge of home values showed U.S. home prices climbed in April, hitting record highs in several cities. In addition, the Conference Board said its measure of U.S. consumer confidence increased this month to the highest level since October.

"Obviously, the market isn't very receptive to uncertainty, but in some ways this uncertainty is providing the possibility and the consideration that what happened in the U.K. isn't necessarily reflective of, or an indicator of, a recession, especially here in the U.S. as well as globally," said W. Janet Dougherty, a global investment specialist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.