Photo: The Canadian Press

TORONTO — North American stock markets rebounded from a three-day slide in a relief rally after an erratic start to the week on mounting concerns about inflation.

“It looks like the cyclical bull market is going to extend here for a while longer,” said Candice Bangsund, portfolio manager for Fiera Capital.

Markets were rattled earlier in the week by reports of consumer and producer inflation beating expectations.

“But inevitably it would appear that these are indeed fleeting and will not alter the accommodating monetary policy stance from global central banks,” Bangsund said.

A pullback in the energy sector caused the S&P/TSX composite index to lag its U.S. counterparts, closing up just 28.04 points to 19,135.81.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 433.79 points at 34,021.45. The S&P 500 index was up 49.46 points at 4,112.50 while the Nasdaq composite was up 93.31 points at 13,124.99.

The rally was accompanied by a rotation from growth sectors like technology to so-called cyclical and value-oriented sectors that thrive amid an economic recovery.

Seven of the 11 major sectors on the TSX were higher, including consumer discretionary, financials and industrials.

The June crude contract was down US$2.26 at US$63.82 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.97 per mmBTU.

The Canadian dollar traded for 82.30 cents US compared with 82.67 cents US on Wednesday.