Toronto, U.S. stock markets advance

Stock markets in Toronto and New York moved higher Wednesday as oil prices edged up and Democratic leaders finalized a deal with the Bush administration for a $14-billion U.S. government aid package for the auto industry.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 236 points to 8,634. In New York, the Dow Jones gained 70 points, while the Nasdaq was up 18 points.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.31 of a cent to 79.39 cents US.

Oil gained $1.45 to $43.52 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders looked ahead to an expected production-quota cut next week by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

European markets were mixed, with Britain's FTSE 100 down 0.32 per cent, while Germany's Dax gained 0.54 per cent and France's CAC 40 rose 0.68 per cent.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 3.2 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 5.6 per cent.

With the Toronto stock market's main index down 40 per cent during the year to date, CIBC World Markets has cut its outlook for S&P/TSX performance in 2009.

Jeff Rubin, the investment bank's chief strategist, said he now expects the index to reach 11,000, down from the previous forecast of 12,000, and warned of "near-term risks to the market from a contracting North American economy."

With files from the Canadian Press