TORONTO -- Canada's main stock index concluded a strong first week of 2021 by setting another record intraday high that perhaps bodes well for the year.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 14.50 points to 18,042.07 on an afternoon recovery in trading to end about 16 points below the high set earlier in the day.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 56.84 points at 31,097.97, the S&P 500 index was up 20.89 points at 3,824.68, while the Nasdaq composite was up 134.50 points at 13,201.98.

The Canadian dollar traded for 78.71 cents US compared with 78.70 cents US on Thursday.

The February crude oil contract was up US$1.41 to US$52.24 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down 2.9 cents US at US$2.70 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down US$78.20 at US$1,835.40 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 2.25 cents at about $3.67 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 8, 2021.