Toronto stock index up moderately in broad advance, loonie slips

TORONTO - Canada's main stock index was up moderately this morning in a broad-based advance led by mining stocks.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 48.70 points at 16,394.17 after 90 minutes of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 122.51 at 25,429.34. The S&P 500 index was up 13.62 points at 2,816.22 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 37.05 points at 7,667.051

The Canadian dollar was trading at 76.77 cents US, down from Monday's average value of 76.80 cents US.

The September crude contract was down $1.42 at US$68.71 per barrel and the September natural gas contract was up two cents to US$2.82 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down 30 cents at US$1,231.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was up two cents at US$2.81 a pound.