TORONTO — It was no joke on April Fool’s Day as the S&P 500 topped 4,000 points for the first time and North American stock markets rallied ahead of the Good Friday long weekend.
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 289.65 points to a record close of 18,990.32.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 171.66 points at 33,153.21. The S&P 500 index was up 46.98 points at 4,019.87, while the Nasdaq composite was up 233.23 points at 13,480.10.
The Canadian dollar traded for 79.59 cents US compared with 79.52 cents US on Wednesday.
The May crude oil contract was up US$2.29 at US$61.45 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up 3.1 cents at US$2.64 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was up US$12.80 at US$1,728.40 an ounce and the May copper contract was down half a cent at US$3.99 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 1, 2021.
