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 Brazil real China renminbi Euro

Hong Kong dollar India rupee Indonesia rupiah Japan yen Malaysia ringgit Mexico peso N.Z. dollar Norway krone Peruvian new sol Russia rouble Saudi riyal Singapore dollar South Africa rand South Korean won Sweden krona Switzerland franc Taiwanese dollar Thailand baht Turkey lira

U.K. pound

U.S. dollar Vietnam dong

0.9858 0.3877 0.1951 1.5331 0.1571 0.01920 0.000092 0.01123 0.3150 0.06668 0.9071 0.1602 0.3826 0.02190 0.3277 0.9377 0.10350 0.001147 0.1563 1.3228 0.04204 0.03922 0.3287 1.7497 1.2288 0.000054

Financial highlights

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

S&P/TSX Composite Index – 15,860.92, down 90.75 points Dow – 26,186.71, up 37.32 points S&P 500 – 2,821.98, down 1.83 points

Nasdaq – 7,385.86, down 25.62 points

Currencies:

Cdn – 81.38 cents US, up 0.03 of a cent

Pound – C$1.7497, up 0.64 of a cent

Euro – C$1.5331, up 0.45 of a cent Euro – US$1.2476, up 0.44 of a cent

Oil futures:

US$65.80, up $1.07

(March contract)

Gold futures:

US$1,347.90 per oz., up $4.80 (April contract)

Canadian Fine Silver Handy and Harman:

$21.996 oz., down 6.8 cents $707.17 kg., down $2.19

The markets today

TORONTO (CP) —North American stocks markets pulled back from their recent significant losses, as oil prices gained ground and the U.S. Federal Reserve said it was leaving its key interest rate unchanged.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index edged back 3.84 points to 15,951.67, after losing about 284 points in the previous two trading sessions. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 72.50 points to 26,149.39. The S&P 500 index was up 1.38 points to 2,823.81 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.00 points to 7,411.48.

On Tuesday, Wall Street had slumped to its worst loss since August.

The Canadian dollar closed at an average trading value of 81.35 cents US, up 0.23 of a U.S. cent.

The March crude contract was up 23 cents to US$64.73 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down 20 cents to US$3.00 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$3.10 to US$1,343.10 an ounce and the March copper contract was up one cent to US$3.20 a pound.