Man facing stock exchange, financial chart overlay
welcomia/123RF

Canada’s main stock index inched higher in the first day of trading in 2020 while U.S. markets again set record highs to start the year.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 36.52 points at 17,099.95.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 330.36 points at 28,868.80. The S&P 500 index was up 27.07 points at 3,257.85, while the Nasdaq composite was up 119.58 points at 9,092.19.

The Canadian dollar traded for US76.97¢ compared with an average of US76.99¢ on Tuesday.

The February crude contract was up US12¢ at US$61.18 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down US6.7¢ at US$2.12 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$5 at US$1,528.10 an ounce and the March copper contract was up US2.8¢ at US$2.83 a pound.