TSX rises on positive U.S. data

The Toronto stock market closed higher Wednesday as U.S. data showed the economy steadily recovering, which took some of the sting from another failure by eurozone leaders to agree on a vital batch of bailout money for Greece. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 53.78 points to 12,100.06 as indexes also moved higher on news that Israel and the Hamas militant group have reached a ceasefire agreement after eight days of fierce fighting. The TSX Venture Exchange add- ed 0.36 of a point to 1,242.66.

The Canadian dollar drifted 0.08 of a cent (U.S.) higher to 100.35 cents amid rising oil and gold prices. The Dow Jones industrials climbed 48.38 points to 12,836.89, the Nasdaq composite index was up 9.87 points to 2,926.55 and the S&P 500 index added 3.22 points to 1,391.03.

Meanwhile, European Union finance ministers ended a marathon session Tuesday still unable to agree on a deal to give Greece the next installment of bailout funds — the second consecutive meeting at which ministers couldn’t agree on a deal. The gold sector was ahead about 1.2 per cent while December bullion moved up $4.60 to $1,728.20 an ounce. The energy sector was ahead 0.2 per cent while oil prices gained ground. The January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 63 cents to $87.38 a barrel. The base metals sector led decliners, down about 0.5 per cent as December copper edged two cents lower to $3.50 a pound.