TORONTO _ The Toronto stock market turned in a small gain despite a retrenchment in oil prices.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 24.76 points at 15,213.60, extending the rally that began April 1.
Buoying the market were TSX metals stocks, while the pullback in oil prices followed the latest U.S. inventory report, which showed that crude stockpiles registered the largest single-week jump since 2001. The May crude contract settled down $3.56 at US$50.42 a barrel.
New York markets were higher as investors pondered minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's March 17-18 meeting on interest rates, which showed Fed officials were in wide disagreement over when the next rate hike should occur.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed ahead 27.09 points at 17,902.51, the Nasdaq soared 40.59 points to 4,950.82 and the S&P 500 rose 5.57 points to 2,081.90.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.21 of a U.S. cent at 79.76 cents.
For news about small stocks that made big moves in Wednesday’s trading, please read the Canadian Small and Micro-Cap Report.