Major stock indexes advance moderately, loonie gains against U.S. dollar

TORONTO -- North American stock markets made moderate gains in late-morning trading.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up by 54.64 points at 15,443.59 after nearly two hours of trading in Toronto.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.92 points to 19,934.30. The S&P 500 advanced 5.98 points to 2,274.88 and the Nasdaq composite rose 21.76 points to 5,553.57.

The Canadian dollar was at 75.74 cents US, up 0.15 of a U.S. cent from Monday.

The February crude contract slipped 72 cents to US$51.24 per barrel and February natural gas gained 18 cents to US$3.28 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract rose $3.60 to US$1,184.90 an ounce and March copper contracts were up eight cents at US$2.61 a pound.