North American markets closed out the week on a positive note as world oil prices backed off from Thursday’s record close.

At Friday’s close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX was up 41.68 points or 0.5% to 8335.62, while the TSX Venture Exchange jumped 23.35 points or 1.56% to 1523.85. The TSX gained about 2% on the week, while the TSXV was ahead 2.9% from last Friday’s close.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrials finished up 69.32 points or 0.69% to 10110.14. The Nasdaq gained 18.12 points or 1% to 1838.01,while the S&P 500 jumped 7.12 points or 0.65% up at 1098.35.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.06 of a cent, trading at US76.99 late in the day.

Oil prices flirted with the US$49 mark before slipping 84¢ to US$47.86 a barrel for September light sweet crude in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. They had reached as high as US$49.40 after setting another record in the previous session of US$48.70 a barrel.

Investors seemed relieved after militiamen loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr removed weapons from the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf in a step aimed at ending a two-week-old uprising.

The recent rise in oil prices has sparked worries about a jump in consumer prices and caused some investors to flee to gold stocks.

In Toronto, the TSX was led by the gold and technology sub-sectors; the former closed up 1.04%, while the latter jumped 3.1%. Financial stocks were also up, 0.29%, while energy stocks, despite the increase in world oil prices, closed out the day off 0.54% as a group.

Analysts also noted Friday was an options expiry day, which can often add to market volatility.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales, driven by vehicle sales, surged 5.1% in the second quarter, the biggest gain in 10 years.

In the U.S., the Dow finished day ahead 2.9% on the week. The Nasdaq composite gained 4.6% on the week. The S&P 500 rose 3.2% on the week.

Meanwhile, the new darling of the tech set, Google Inc., finished its first two trading days on the upside. The stock, which debuted Thursday on Nasdaq at US$85, gained US$7.98 Friday to close at US$108.31.