Falling oil prices helped pushed Wall Street to a triple-digit gain Wednesday but held back Toronto stocks, although Bay Street managed to finish in the black nonetheless.

At close, the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index added 36.44 points or 0.39% to 9407.84, while the TSX Venture Exchange edged up 0.20 of a point to 1593.83.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 132.57 or 1.28% to 10464.45. Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up 11.76 or 1.00% to 1185.56, and the Nasdaq composite index jumped 26.50 or 1.32% to 2030.65.

The Canadian dollar gained ground after rising just over a fifth of a cent Tuesday, when high-profile Conservative MP Belinda Stronach defected to the Liberals, reducing the likelihood of an imminent election call. The currency was ahead by 0.40 of a cent to US79.4¢ late in the day as the U.S. dollar came under selling pressure after release of the CPI data.

In Toronto, the TSX energy group lost 0.78% as the price of crude oil moved lower after new U.S. data showed higher inventories in the U.S. Crude for June delivery ended down $1.72 or 3.5% to US$47.25 a barrel in New York trading.

But other sub-groups kept the overall market in positive territory. Industrials, up 2.01%, and metals and mining, up 2.82%, led the way. Financials, gold, technology and materials were all up as well.

Big gainers in Toronto included Alcan Inc., up $1.18 or 3.08% to $39.49; Goldcorp Inc., up 51¢ or 3.2% to $16.46; and Ace Aviation Holdings, up $2.79 or 2.93% to $98.09. Among the losers were Suncor Energy Inc., which lost $1.49 or 3.15% to $45.88, and Telus Corp., which lost 59¢ or 0.58% to $101.56.

In New York, U.S stocks rallied in the final hour of trading on tame inflation data and a drop in oil prices, with Hewlett-Packard a notable gainer after its CEO hinted at major restructuring plans for the tech bellwether.

Investors seized on the latest consumer price report showing underlying U.S. inflation to be well contained.

The consumer price index increased 0.5% in April, driven by a 4.5% increase in energy prices, but core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was unchanged.