Oil, NAFTA trade talk optimism help boost loonie and Toronto market

The Canadian Press</span>
Published Wednesday, March 21, 2018 6:14AM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, March 21, 2018 4:46PM EDT

TORONTO -- Rising oil prices and optimism on NAFTA trade talks helped push the dollar and Canada's main stock index higher while U.S. markets ended slightly down after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 58.92 points to 15,675.28, led by gains in the energy sector.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 44.96 points to 24,682.31. The S&P 500 index was down 5.01 points to 2,711.93 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 19.01 points to 7,345.29.

The Canadian dollar closed at 77.17 cents US, up 0.70 of a US cent.

The May crude contract closed up US$1.63 to US$65.17 per barrel and the April natural gas contract ended down four cents to US$2.64 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract closed up US$9.60 to US$1,321.50 an ounce and the May copper contract ended up two cents to US$3.06 a pound.

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