TSX ends week on high note

The Toronto stock market closed slightly higher amid a mixed bag of economic data while traders kept a close eye on how U.S. budget negotiations are progressing. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 36.19 points to 12,239.36.

The TSX Venture climbed 2.52 points to 1,220.9 with traders unwilling to make big commitments while Democrat and Republican leaders were still wrangling over ways to avoid steep spending cuts and significant tax increases from kicking in automatically in January if there’s no deal.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.09 of a cent (U.S.) to 100.64 cents as the economy stalled out during September. Statistics Canada reported there was no growth in gross domestic product during that month following a 0.1 per cent dip during August.

The Dow Jones industrials added 3.76 points to 13,025.58 after a government report showed that consumers cut back on spending last month with no growth in personal income. The Nasdaq was 1.79 points lower to 3,010.24, while the S&P 500 index edged up 0.32 of a point to 1,416.27. The TSX mining sector moved up 0.65 per cent while March copper gained four cents to $3.65 (U.S.) a pound. The energy sector was flat as the January crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 84 cents to $88.91 (U.S.) a barrel. The gold sector led decliners, down per cent with February bullion off $16.80 to $1,712.70 (U.S.).