Most North American markets finished the day on a positive note, evan after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates 25 basis points.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX 500 composite index closed up 47.82 points, or 0.58% to at 8,231.26.

All but one of the TSX’s 10 subgroups closed up, led by the technology, telecoms, utilities and health-care sectors.

Techs closed up 1.77% with heavyweight Nortel Networks rising 11¢, or 2.38% , to $4.74.

Nortel said it will announce preliminary first- and second-quarter results on Aug. 19, giving investors an idea of how well North America’s largest telecom equipment maker is performing.

TSX industrials ended down 0.26% on weakness in big names like planes and train maker Bombardier and Canadian Pacific Railway.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished on a down note, dropping 12.67 points, or 0.85% to 1,481.01.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 130.01 points, or 1.32%, at 9,944.67. The S&P 500 index was up 13.82 points, or 1.30%, at 1,079.04. The technology-laced Nasdaq composite index was up 34.06 points, or 1.92%, at 1,808.70.

Investors and analysts were heartened by the Fed’s accompanying policy statement which said that the economy was poised to pick up after a recent slowdown.

The Canadian dollar dropped slightly, down from a close of US75.90¢ yesterday to US75.64¢ today.