TORONTO -- Energy stocks helped shore up the Toronto stock index, though shares in Canadian grocery retailers dropped sharply in the wake of Amazon's deal to buy Whole Foods Market.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 32.12 points to 15,192.54, despite losses of nearly 1.5 per cent in the consumer staples sector.
The energy sector led the way, up nearly one per cent.
At the close, shares of Loblaw (TSX:L) and Empire (TSX:EMP.A), the parent of Sobeys, were down more than 3.5 per cent, while Metro (TSX:MRU) fell nearly three per cent.
In New York, the S&P 500 index eked out 0.69 of a point to 2,433.15 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 13.74 points to 6,151.76.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 24.38 points to 21,384.28, a record high.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.29 of U.S. cent to an average trading price of 75.57 cents US.
The July crude contract was up 29 cents at US$44.97 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down two cents at US$3.04 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was up US$1.90 to US$1,256.50 an ounce and the July copper contract was unchanged at US$2.56 a pound.
