Canada’s main stock index managed a slight increase as gains in the energy and financials sectors outweighed losses in real estate and information technology.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 31.75 points at 16,311.61.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 166.50 at 26,384.63. The S&P 500 index ended up 5.99 points at 2,879.39, while the Nasdaq composite was down 3.77 points at 7,891.78.

The Canadian dollar averaged US74.87¢ compared with an average of US75.05¢ on Wednesday.

The May crude contract closed down 36¢ at US$62.10 per barrel and the May natural gas contract ended down 3¢ at US$2.64 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract closed down US$1 at US$1,294.30 an ounce and the May copper contract was down 3.9¢ at US$2.91 a pound.