TORONTO - Canada's main stock index increased on the back of higher crude oil prices while trading on U.S. stock markets was mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 72.45 points at 15,280.78.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 22.38 points at 24,553.24. The S&P 500 index was up 3.63 points at 2,642.33, while the Nasdaq composite was up 47.69 points at 7,073.46.
The Canadian dollar traded for an average of 74.90 cents US compared with an average of 74.92 cents US on Wednesday.
The March crude contract was up 51 cents at US$53.13 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was up 7.6 cents at US$3.00 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down US$4.20 at US$1,279.80 an ounce and the March copper contract was down one cent at US$2.64 a pound.
Index and currency in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)
The Canadian Press