MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

These are indicative wholesale rates for foreign currency provided by the Bank of Canada on Wednesday. Quotations in Canadian funds.

Australia dollar 0.9823 Brazil real 0.3860 China renminbi 0.1927 Euro 1.5067

Hong Kong dollar 0.1603 India rupee 0.01973 Indonesia rupiah 0.000093 Japan yen 0.01115 Malaysia ringgit 0.3123 Mexico peso 0.06468 N.Z. dollar 0.8898 Norway krone 0.1545 Peruvian new sol 0.3886 Russia rouble 0.02187 Saudi riyal 0.3342 Singapore dollar 0.9430 South Africa rand 0.1015 South Korean won 0.001177 Sweden krona 0.1533 Switzerland franc 1.2828 Taiwanese dollar 0.04237 Thailand baht 0.03881 Turkey lira 0.3324

U.K. pound 1.6951

U.S. dollar 1.2533 Vietnam dong 0.000055

Financial highlights

Highlights at the close Wednesday at world financial market trading.

Stocks:

S&P/TSX Composite Index – 16,371.55, up 61.56 points (record high)

Dow – 24,922.68, up 98.67 points (record high)

S&P 500 – 2,713.06, up 17.25 points (record high) Nasdaq – 7,065.53, up 58.63 points (record high) Currencies:

Cdn – 79.79 cents US, down 0.10 of a cent

Pound – C$1.6951, down 0.44 of a cent

Euro – C$1.5067, down 0.15 of a cent

Euro – US$1.2022, down 0.27 of a cent

Oil futures:

US$61.63, up $1.26 cents (February contract)

Gold futures:

US$1,318.50 per oz., up $2.40 (February contract)

Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman:

$22.441 oz., $721.48 kg. ( Tuesday: $22.416 oz., $720.67 kg.)

The markets today

TORONTO (CP) — Rallying oil prices helped push Canada’s main stock index and its U.S. counterparts into record territory on Wednesday, while the loonie lost ground.

The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 61.56 points to 16,371.55, with energy shares up 1.5 per cent as the February crude contract surged US$1.26 to US$61.63 per barrel.

Oil prices are at two-and-a-halfyear highs and are still rising. One reason is that investors are concerned that a pipeline bombing in Libya last month and protests in Iran could reduce oil supplies. “I didn’t think oil could go any higher,” said Allan Small, a senior investment adviser at Holliswealth. “There’s a lot of things causing positive momentum for the price of oil which in my opinion is not sustainable.” Health-care stocks also gave the TSX a boost, with shares of licensed marijuana producers such as Canopy Growth Corp. ( TSX:WEED) and Aphria Inc. ( TSX:APH) up 10.91 per cent and 6.29 per cent, respectively, at the closing of markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 98.67 points to 24,922.68. The S&P 500 index added 17.25 points to 2,713.06 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 58.63 points to 7,065.53. In currency markets, the Canadian dollar closed at an average trading value of 79.79 cents US, down 0.10 of a U.S. cent.