North American markets closed the week on a positive note with higher oil prices boosting Bay Street and some better-than-expected economic news providing Wall Street with some late-day good news.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index lost ground in the afternoon, but finished the day ahead 14.88 points or 0.18% to 8458.07. The TSX Venture Exchange closed up 22.95 points or 1.55% at 1,507.88. It was the third straight day of gains for the TSX.

Toronto markets will be closed Monday for a civic holiday.

Wall Street, down most of day, saw a last-hour rally push it into the black. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.47 points or 0.10% to close at 10139.71. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1.29 points or 0.12% to 1101.72. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index gained 6.3 points or 0.33% to 1887.36.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.20 of a cent to US75.19¢. The U.S. dollar had earlier weakened with the release of data showing that second-quarter gross domestic product missed expectations. U.S. GDP rose at an annual rate of 3% vs the 3.7% that had been widely expected. That was a substantial comedown from the 4.5% growth racked up in the first quarter, and another report showed consumer spending fell to the weakest rate since the last recession.

In Toronto, stocks were led by the energy sub-index, which closed up 0.62%. That was thanks to another round of rising oil prices. Crude-oil futures closed in fresh uncharted territory above US$43 a barrel Friday, with the growing potential for disruptions to global production triggering a hefty gain of nearly US$7 for the month. September crude closed at US$43.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.05 cents for the session, up $2.09 for the week, and up $6.66 from the closing level on June 30.

On the TSX, gold and financial stocks were also up, 0.76% and 0.48% respectively.

On Wall Street, investors who hadn’t left early for the weekend seized on some good news about the economy to help push up the markets. The University of Michigan said its final July index of consumer sentiment rose to 96.7, from June’s final reading of 95.6. That was better than many had expected.