Major North American markets advanced Tuesday on positive news regarding China-U.S. talks and the American debt ceiling.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 53.80 points to 16,572.68.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average advanced 177.29 points to 27,349.19. The S&P 500 index gained 20.44 points to 3,005.47, while the Nasdaq composite moved up 47.27 points to 8,251.40.

The Canadian dollar traded at US76.09¢, down from an average of US76.32¢ on Monday.

The September crude contract gained US55¢ to US$56.77 per barrel and the September natural gas contract shed about US2¢ to about US$2.28 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract dropped US$5.20 to US$1,421.70 an ounce and the September copper contract fell about US2¢ to US$2.70 a pound.