TORONTO (Bloomberg) - Canada's stock benchmark rose to the highest level in three weeks, led by financial shares, after Bank of Montreal's profit topped analysts' estimates and US economic reports indicated the recession is ending.

Bank of Montreal, the first Canadian bank to report third-quarter results, jumped the most since March after saying it set aside less money for bad loans. Royal Bank of Canada and Toronto-Dominion Bank helped push the group's index to its biggest gain in three months as measures of consumer confidence and home prices were better than forecast in Canada's biggest trade partner. Equinox Minerals Ltd. advanced after Jiangxi Copper Co., China's largest producer, said global demand for the metal will increase.

The Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index climbed 130.56 points, or 1.2 percent, to 10,920.53 at 4.10 p.m. in Toronto. The benchmark for Canadian equities is up 22 percent this year, compared with a 18 percent advance in the MSCI World Index.

"This is a big week for banks and to have the first one come out ahead of expectations, it's a significant driver," said Michael Sprung, president of Sprung & Co. in Toronto, which manages about C$60 million. "It's building expectations that they might all come out with better results than forecast."

Financial stocks rallied the most, climbing 3.4 percent as a group. At least five other banks are scheduled to announce earnings this week, including Royal Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Raw-material producers in the S&P/TSX advanced 0.9 percent.

Bank of Montreal jumped 6.7 percent to C$52.30. Excluding one-time items, profit at Canada's fourth-biggest bank was C$1.05 a share. That beat the median estimate of 94 cents a share from a Bloomberg survey of analysts. The lender set aside C$417 million to cover soured loans, 14 percent less than a year earlier.

Royal Bank of Canada added 4.2 percent to C$52.80. Toronto-Dominion Bank climbed 3.3 percent to C$65.72. CIBC advanced 4.4 percent to C$68.65.

The Conference Board's confidence index rose to 54.1, more than forecast and the first gain in three months, from 47.4 in July, a report from the New York-based group showed today. The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index for 20 U.S. cities fell 15.4 percent from a year earlier, the smallest drop since April 2008.

Equinox Minerals, owner of Africa's biggest copper mine, added 2.9 percent to C$2.81. A weakening dollar and concerns that inflation will rise will boost investors' appetite for commodities, supporting copper prices, said Jiangxi Copper on Monday, without giving a forecast.

IIvanhoe Mines Ltd. soared 24 percent to C$11.78 for the steepest gain in the S&P/TSX. The metal producer that has a mine venture in Mongolia said changes to the country's laws will help it complete an investment agreement on the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold project "in the near future".

Entree Gold Inc., which also mines gold and copper in Mongolia, surged 25 percent to C$2.23.

West Timmins Mining Inc. dropped 7.3 percent to C$2.30. The gold company's drilling results from the Thunder Creek joint venture in Timmins, Ontario were disappointing, Fraser Mackenzie Ltd. analyst Gary Baschuk wrote in a note to clients.

Venture partner Lake Shore Gold Corp. slipped 6.5 percent to C$3.

Alimentation Couche Tard Inc. advanced 7.9 percent to C$18.97, the highest price since November 2007. The convenience store owner said it earned 48 cents a share in the first quarter, beating the average analyst estimate by 47 percent, according to Bloomberg data.

Forsys Metals Corp. tumbled 25 percent, the most since March, to C$4. The uranium developer that had agreed to be acquired by George Forrest International Afrique Sprl said it scrapped the plan because George Forrest failed to transfer the funds necessary to complete the transaction.