Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index rebounded from December’s selloff by gaining 8.5 per cent in January, fuelled by a surge in crude oil prices.

North American markets as a whole performed well in the month, led by the Nasdaq composite, which ended 9.7 per cent higher.

The gains were pretty impressive especially since the month started with investors unsure if there would be a temporary or so-called dead cat bounce or a sustainable rally, says Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist for SIA Wealth Management.

“Certainly we’ve seen a fairly sizable rally unfold over the last few weeks, so January has been a particularly strong month and a very big rebound from the dismal December that we had.”

Since the turn of the century, January’s performance has been mixed, he said. This year’s results were the strongest in at least 14 years for the TSX.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 56.05 points to 15,540.60, marking the sixth consecutive daily gain. The Toronto market advanced by nearly 1,200 points in the month as it faced just three losing sessions.

Cieszynski said the Canadian market benefited from a recovery in U.S. markets, but higher oil prices and turnarounds in a number of commodities, including gold, silver, copper and forest products, also made positive contributions.

Several other sectors, such as industrials, health care, technology and consumer staples have also done well.