Financials help boost S&P/TSX composite, U.S. markets mixed

Photo: The Canadian Press

Canada's main stock index was up in early trading helped by gains in the financial sector as losses in the industrial and energy sectors weighed on the market.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 23.94 points at 15,216.77.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 70.36 points at 25,312.75. The S&P 500 index was down 1.95 points at 3,042.36, while the Nasdaq composite was up 13.13 points at 9503.00.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.95 cents US compared with 72.53 cents US on Friday.

The July crude contract was down US$1.01 at US$34.48 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$1.77 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract was down US$8.80 at US$1,742.90 an ounce and the July copper contract was up nearly a penny at US$2.43 a pound.