North American markets are rebounding today!

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index showed a triple-digit gain this morning, as markets around the world rebound from yesterday’s major declines.

The T-S-X/S*P composite index rose dramatically in the first minutes of trading, before settling down slightly.

Major markets in New York and throughout Europe were also higher after China’s central bank cut its key interest rate as the country’s Shanghai market dropped significantly again today.

Our financial analyst Kim Parlee of TD Wealth Management explains what’s different about today’s Chinese rate cuts.

“Before we had this happen we had sell offs in China, and they’d actually been getting into the markets themselves.  That means actually working with institutions to buy up stocks or put rules in place that allow them to sell.  They backed off those measures of actively getting involved in the market and are now focused on the economy, making sure that whatever happens in the market doesn’t affect the Chinese economy,” Parlee detailed.

The markets and the economy continue to weigh heavy on the federal election trail.

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau took a shot at Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative leader’s economic policies, calling him a lone wolf prime minister.

“Stephen Harper’s economic team can fit in a very small room.  All he needs is one chair and a mirror,” Trudeau scoffed.

Trudeau made his comments while campaigning with former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin in East Toronto.

And NDP leader Tom Mulcair brought a message of renewal to Ontario’s hart hit manufacturing heartland.

Mulcair was in Dundas, near Hamilton, this morning where he repeated a promise to cut taxes for small businesses.

Stephen Harper is in Quebec City this morning, where he took a dig at Mulcair, saying the NDP leader is proposing reckless spending plans without saying how he will pay for them.