S&P/TSX composite up more than 150 points, U.S. markets also up

By The Canadian Press on December 23, 2022.

A currency trader walks by the screens showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at a foreign exchange dealing room in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Shares declined in Asia on Friday after a retreat on Wall Street driven by fears that strong economic data will lead the Federal Reserve to double down on its interest rate hikes to tame inflation. THECANADIAN PRESS/AP-Lee Jin-man

TORONTO – Canada’s main stock indexwas up more than 150 points on the last day of trading before Christmas, while U.S. markets were also on the sunny side after a dramatic slide Thursday on both sides of the border.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 156.99 points at 19,506.65.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 176.44 points at 33,203.93. The S&P 500 index was up 22.43 points at 3,844.82,while the Nasdaq composite was up 21.74 points at 10,497.86.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.51 cents US compared with 73.23 cents US on Thursday.

The February crude contract was up US$2.07 at US$79.56 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up five cents at US$4.98 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$8.90 at US$1,804.20 an ounce and the March copper contract was up five cents at US$3.81 a pound.