Toronto stocks closed higher Wednesday on news that tech bellwether Nortel Networks had won a major U.S. contract. The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 13.50 points at 7,580.36.

About 302 million shares worth $3.44 billion changed hands. Market sentiment was positive as 638 issues advanced and 587 declined.

The information technology sector rose 2.94%. Nortel shares rose 36¢ to $4.85 on news that the firm won a $1 billion contract from Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless telecoms operator.

Cognos jumped $2.69 to $46.20.

Industrials stocks were up 0.86%, helped by the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which said that the U.S. economy continued to expand during the summer.

Bombardier gained 17¢ to $5.56.

Health-care stocks fell 1.72%, as Biovail, Canada’s largest publicly traded pharmaceutical slipped $2.58 to $53.66.

The Bank of Canada’s move on Wednesday morning to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2.75% had little effect. The market had expected the cut.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 45.19 points to 9,568.46. The S&P 500 index was up 4.28 points at 1,026.27. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 11.42 points to 1,852.90.