The Canadian stock market ended higher Monday as U.S. markets were closed for Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 68.56 points, or 0.54 percent, to 12,794.25, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index gained 1. 28 points, or 0.10 percent, to 1,236.60.

Shares of Blackberry maker Research In Motion (RIM) led the market's gains, rising 10.82 percent to 17.41 Canadian dollars apiece after the company's chief executive said to a German newspaper that the RIM was considering strategic options that included the sale of its hardware production and the licensing of its software.

Analyst said the RIM's move on Monday was a reminder of the stock's trading activity on U.S. Thanksgiving Day nearly two months ago, when RIM jumped 18 percent on the Canadian stock market while the U.S. markets were closed.

All of the eight sectors on the Canadian stock market's main index were closed higher.

The information sector rose 1.94 percent and played the biggest role among the sectors in leading the market higher, boosted by RIM's surge.

The financial sector was up 0.67 percent. Bank of Nova Scotia added 0.83 percent to 58.34 Canadian dollars per share while Toronto Dominion Bank added 0.57 percent to 83.42 Canadian dollars.

The energy sector increased 0.37 percent. Suncor Energy grew by 0.18 percent to 33.80 Canadian dollars per share, but Canadian Natural Resources decreased by 1.64 percent to 30.44 Canadian dollars per share.

In other company news, major Canadian hardware retailer and distributor Rona Inc named a new executive chairman and reshuffled its board of directors Monday. Its shares climbed 3.1 percent to 11.86 Canadian dollars apiece. Endi