TORONTO -- Canada's main stock index posted a triple-digit advance as the price of gold and the materials sector, which includes the big gold miners, shot higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 141.51 points to 16,656.12.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 86.11 points to 27,844.91. The S&P 500 index gained 9.14 points to 3,381.99, while the Nasdaq composite added 110.42 points to 11,129.73.

The Canadian dollar traded for 75.72 cents US compared with 75.47 cents US on Friday.

The September crude contract gained 88 cents to US$42.89 per barrel and the September natural gas contract lost nearly two cents to roughly US$2.34 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract soared US$48.90 to US$1,998.70 an ounce and the September copper contract advanced four cents to US$2.90 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020.