Materials sector helps lift S&P/TSX composite in early trading, U.S. indexes down

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index moved higher in early trading as gold prices rose, while U.S. stocks started the week lower.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 20.44 points at 16,143.92.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 66.34 points at 26,605.61. The S&P 500 index was down 6.97 points at 3,219.31, while the Nasdaq composite was down 2.08 points at 10,501.11.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.78 cents US compared with an average of 73.84 cents on Friday.

The September crude contract was down 32 cents at US$40.43 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down 5.5 cents at US$1.66 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract was up US$9.10 at US$1,819.10 an ounce and the September copper contract was up slightly to nearly US$2.91 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)

The Canadian Press