Energy stocks help Toronto market hit another high

TORONTO — Energy stocks helped lift Canada’s main stock index to another record close on Tuesday as the price of oil also ticked higher, while the loonie was down a touch ahead of the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision today. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 96.38 points at 16,548.72 to top the record close set a day earlier.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 143.07 points at 24,919.66. The S&P 500 index closed up 9.67 at 2,793.84 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 3 points at 7,759.20.

The Canadian dollar averaged 76.19 cents US, down 0.16 of a US cent.

The August crude contract closed up 26 cents at US$74.11 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down four cents at US$2.79 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract ended down $4.20 at US$1,255.40 an ounce and the September copper contract was down a penny at US$2.84 a pound.