S&P/TSX composite up in late morning trading, U.S. stock markets also edge higher

TORONTO — Strength in financial stocks helped Canada’s main stock index move up in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also edged higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 40.36 points at 20,077.13.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 9.20 points at 35,426.18. The S&P 500 index was up 3.07 points at 4,557.96, while the Nasdaq composite was up 3.97 points at 14,285.73.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.54 cents US compared with 73.63 cents US on Tuesday.

The January crude contract was up 27 cents at US$76.68 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.84 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$3.50 at US$2,063.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a penny at US$3.84 a pound.