Higher crude oil prices push loonie higher; TSX essentially flat

TORONTO -- Higher crude oil prices pushed the Canadian dollar higher and helped Canada's main stock index to overcome decreases among forestry, industrial and cannabis stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 46.12 points to 16,149.92.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 158.80 to 26,405.76. The S&P 500 index was up 3.64 points to 2,907.95, while the Nasdaq composite was down 6.07 points to 7,950.04.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 77.24 cents US compared with an average of 76.97 cents US on Tuesday.

The November crude contract was up $1.18 to US$70.77 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down 2.5 cents at US$2.91 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$5.40 at US$1,208.30 an ounce and the December copper contract was down 0.1 of a cent at US$2.73 a pound.