Loonie flirts with 77 cents US, stock indexes up marginally

TORONTO - Canada's dollar was flying high and North American stock markets were up in late-morning trading.

The Canadian dollar was at 76.84 cents US in late-morning trade, up 0.19 of a cent from Wednesday.

Earlier, the loonie peeked above 77 cents US -- near a 2017 intraday high set Wednesday. The loonie hasn't closed above 77 cents US since Sept. 8.

Meanwhile, the S&P/TSX composite index gained 16.19 points at 15,419.30, after 90 minutes of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 27.08 points at 19,918.02. The S&P 500 added 3.83 points at 2,283.38 and the Nasdaq composite added 12.50 points at 5,655.15.

The March crude oil contract fell one cent at US$53.87 per barrel and March natural gas contract lost four cents at US$3.12 per mmBtu.

The April gold contract climbed US$15.40 at US$1,223.70 an ounce and March copper contracts fell four cents at US$2.68 a pound.