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Canadian dollar gains 0.6% against the greenback

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Touches an 11-day high at 1.4276

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Home sales tumble 9.8% in February

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Bond yields ease across the curve

By Fergal Smith

TORONTO, March 17 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar

strengthened to an 11-day high against its U.S. counterpart on

Monday as equity markets rallied and investors cheered China's

plan to stimulate consumption.

The loonie was trading 0.6% higher at 1.4280 per U.S.

dollar, or 70.03 U.S. cents, after touching its strongest

intraday level since March 6 at 1.4276.

"A strong bounce in equities has boosted risk sentiment

today, which has weakened the USD across the board," said George

Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC Capital Markets.

"There hasn't been much news on the tariff front today,

which is also helping sentiment."

Wall Street rallied as some investors took advantage of the

recent selloff to buy stocks at cheaper prices.

China's State Council unveiled on Sunday what it called a

"special action plan" to boost domestic consumption.

"The market has been waiting for a deal for Chinese consumer

stimulus for six months," Adam Button, chief currency analyst at

ForexLive. "There are some seeds of global growth being planted

and the market is feeling a bit better about tariffs."

U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff hikes will drag down

growth in Canada, Mexico and the United States while driving up

inflation, the OECD forecast.

Canada is a major producer of commodities, including oil, so

the loonie tends to be sensitive to prospects for the global

economy.

The price of oil settled 0.6% higher at $67.58 a barrel

after the United States vowed to keep attacking Yemen's Houthis

until the Iran-aligned group ends its assaults on shipping.

Canadian home sales tumbled 9.8% in February, the biggest

decline in nearly three years, as the onset of a trade war kept

buyers on the sidelines.

Canadian bond yields moved lower across the curve. The

10-year was down 4.7 basis points at 3.019%.