MONEY IN BRIEF

Currencies

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

Australia dollar 0.9812

Brazil real 0.3498

China renminbi 0.2039

Euro 1.5193 Hong Kong dollar 0.1663

India rupee 0.01929

Indonesia rupiah 0.000094

Japan yen 0.01182

Malaysia ringgit 0.3275

Mexico peso 0.06306

N.Z. dollar 0.9142

Norway krone 0.1613

Peruvian new sol 0.3990

Russia rouble 0.02095

Saudi riyal 0.3480

Singapore dollar 0.9739

South Africa rand 0.09802

South Korean won 0.001202

Sweden krona 0.1500

Switzerland franc 1.3135

Taiwanese dollar 0.04362

Thailand baht 0.04056

Turkey lira 0.2785

U.K. pound 1.7379

U.S. dollar 1.3052

Vietnam dong 0.000057

Financial highlights

Highlights at the close Thursday at world financial market trading. Stocks:

S&P/TSX Composite Index – 16,328.96, up 63.14 points Dow – 25,175.31, down 25.89 points

S&P 500 – 2,782.49, up 6.86 points

Nasdaq – 7,761.04, up 65.34 points (record high) Currencies:

Cdn – 76.62 cents US, down 0.37 of a cent

Pound – C$1.7379, up 0.23 of a cent

Euro – C$1.5193, down 1.02 cents Euro – US$1.1640, down 1.36 cents

Oil futures:

US$66.89, up 25 cents

(July contract)

Gold futures:

US$1,308.30 per oz., up $7.00 (August contract)

Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman:

$23.319 oz., up 34.5 cents $749.71 kg., up $11.10

The markets today

Canada’s main stock index made gains Thursday, boosted by strength in the gold sector as the price of the commodity gained seven dollars.

The S&P/TSX composite index advanced 63.14 points to 16,328.96. Shares in the gold sector were the best performing of the day, gaining on average 1.74 per cent of their worth.

That rise came as the August gold contract gained US$7 to US$1,308.30 an ounce.

The TSX was not up on any major headlines, said Allan Small, a senior investment adviser at HollisWealth, noting the recent spate of major headlines, including the historic U.S. and North Korea summit, the G7 meeting and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking Canada.

“I think now what’s left is everyone trying to pick up the pieces and trying to figure out (these) trade issues. And, I think, right now, that’s what’s really in the minds of investors, what’s going on, on the trade front,” he said. South of the border, markets were mixed.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 25.89 points to 25,175.31. The S&P 500 index rose 6.86 points to 2,782.49 and the Nasdaq composite index moved up 65.34 points to 7,761.04, a record high. Elsewhere in commodities, the July crude contract advanced 25 cents to US$66.89 per barrel and the July natural gas contract stayed relatively unchanged at about US$2.97 per mmBTU. The July copper contract shed about three cents to US$3.22 a pound.