North American stock markets moved higher, with the S&P 500 setting a new record, on anticipation of U.S. interest rate cuts while gold rose to a near six-year high.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 63.04 points to 16,574.83.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 249.17 points at 26,753.17. The S&P 500 index was up 27.72 points at 2,954.18, while the Nasdaq composite was up 64.02 points at 8,051.34.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US75.81¢, up from an average of US74.95¢ on Wednesday.

The August crude contract was up $3.10 at US$57.07 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was down US9.7¢ at US$2.17 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract was up $48.10 at US$1,396.90 an ounce and the July copper contract was up US3.15¢ at US$2.71 a pound.