A sharp drop in the price of oil Thursday gave U.S. investors another reason to cheer after the decisive results of the presidential election. But fall in crude offset good news about the price of gold, constraining Canadian markets.

At close, the S&P/TSX composite was up 25.26 points or 0.29% at 8866.61, while and the TSX Venture Exchange advanced 16.77 points or 1.05% to 1621.33. In New York, the Dow Jones posted a second-consecutive triple-digit gain, surging 177.71 points or 1.75% after getting off to a sluggish start. The Nasdaq jumped 19.30 points or 0.97% to at 2023.63 and the S&P 500 also advanced, adding 18.47 points or 1.62% at 1161.67.

The Canadian dollar continued to benefit from a weakening U.S. dollar, adding 0.13 of a cent to US82.84¢ after trading earlier over the 83¢ level. The US$ has been suffered against other major currencies.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX was led by gold stocks, which jumped 2.58% as a group after the price of bullion advanced sharply as the U.S. currency weakened; it added $5.40 to US$429.50 an ounce in New York. The TSX mining and minerals indices were also up, 1.98% and 2.11% respectively. Strength also came from financials, up 0.18%, and technology issues, which advanced 0.42%.

Energy issues, however, kept a lid on the markets. Energy stocks fell 0.62% as the price of oil retreated.

In financial news, Manulife Financial reported after the market closed that third-quarter jumped 81%. Manulife stock fell 0.54% on the day.

In New York, the day began with a dose of profit-taking before lower oil prices pushed stocks sharply higher for a second straight day. Analysts said a strong retail sales reports for October and a pro-business agenda in the second Bush administration also buoyed the markets.

Oil prices fell below the $50 per barrel mark, giving investors hope that prices, which climbed steadily through October, would finally stabilize. A barrel of light crude was quoted at US$49.25, down $1.63, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Dow has now posted gains in six of the last seven sessions, including while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 have been up for seven straight days.

Some investors were holding back on any further bets while they awaited Friday’s job creation report from the Labor Department. The Federal Reserve meeting next Wednesday — which will likely result in a quarter percentage point hike in interest rates — also had some investors staying on the sidelines.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.11 billion shares, compared with 1.16 billion at the same point on Wednesday.