North American markets moved slightly higher on gains by the energy and materials sectors while investors await signals from the Federal Reserve on expected rate cuts.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 51.54 points to 16,353.45.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 22.92 points at 26,112.53. The S&P 500 index was up 2.69 points at 2,889.67, while the Nasdaq composite was up 48.37 points at 7,845.02.

The Canadian dollar traded for an average of 74.59 cents US compared with an average of 74.71 cents US on Friday.

The July crude contract was down 58 cents at US$51.93 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down one tenth of a cent at US$2.39 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract was down US$1.60 at US$1,342.90 an ounce and the July copper contract was up 1.7 cents at US$2.65 a pound.