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Canada’s benchmark stock index posted its fourth straight gain on Monday as a rebound in natural gas prices gave energy issues a big boost and a meeting of eurozone finance ministers did the same for financials.

The S P/ TS composite index gained 124.60 points, or 1.01%, closing at 12,521.70, with eight of its 10 sub- indexes advancing. Energy led the charge, gaining 1.78% as natural gas producers rose following Chesapeake Energy Corp.’ s announcement that it planned to reduce output and cut investments in gas fields.

Natural gas prices, which had hit a 10year low on the New York Mercantile Exchange, rose 18.2 cents, or 7.8% on Monday, to settle at $ 2.525 per million British thermal units in the February contract.

Natural gas did a 360 today, said Irwin Michael, a money manager at ABC Funds. You got the first of production cuts. You start to get that people are a little more adventuresome.

Encana Corp., rose 7.41% to $ 19, while Canadian Natural Resources gained 3.16% to $ 40.21 and Petrobakken Energy advanced 3.43% to $ 16.28.

The financials sub- index gained 1.27% as European nion finance ministers met to discuss Greek debt and other issues ahead of an E summit next week. CMC Markets analyst Colin Cieszynski says it looks like governments are becoming serious about the situation in Greece.

While there is still some risk that negotiations could drag on, as long as progress continues to be made toward a deal the street, market confidence continues to improve. The reduced fear of a financial meltdown can also be seen in the rotation of capital out of defensive positions and back into more aggressive stances.

Research In Motion, which gained in early trading following late Sunday’s announcement that co- CEOS im Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis were stepping down, fell 9.11% to $ 15.67 after new CEO Thorsten Heins said that there was no need for a drastic change in the beleaguered company’s direction.

The price of crude oil gained $ 1.38 to S$ 99.58 a barrel on Monday, and gold gained $ 14.30 to S$ 1,678.30 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar jumped 57 basis points to 99.27 S.

Markets in the . S. swung between gains and losses on Monday. The Dow ones industrial average slipped 11.66 points, or 0.09%, to close the day at 12,708.82, and the Nasdaq composite was just below flat with a drop of 2.53 points, or 0.09%, to 2,784.17.

Canada’s junior enture exchange rose 17.57 points, or 1.12%, to 1,588.91.