Commodity stocks help Toronto index close higher; Loonie moves higher

TORONTO — Commodity stocks helped Canada’s main stock index swing to a slight gain Wednesday after the market opened lower, while U.S. markets closed higher. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 10.25 points at 16,108.06, led by mining stocks. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 62.52 points at 24,768.93. The S&P 500 index closed up 11.01 points at 2,722.46 and the Nasdaq composite index ended up 46.67 points at 7,398.30. The Canadian dollar averaged 78.07, up 0.41 of a US cent. The June crude contract closed up 18 cents at US$71.49 per barrel and the June natural gas contract ended down two cents at US$2.82 per mmBTU. The June gold contract ended up $1.20 at US$1,291.50 an ounce and the July copper contract was up one cent at US$3.07 a pound.