Materials, energy help TSX

U.S. markets were weighed by China concerns on Tuesday

The materials and energy sectors helped Canada’s main stock index to outpace U.S. markets, which were essentially flat on concerns about a trade deal with China.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 32.50 points at 16,248.76.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 14.17 points at 26,048.51. The S&P 500 index was down 1.01 points at 2,885.72, while the Nasdaq composite was down 0.60 points at 7,822.57.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US75.31¢ compared with an average of US75.37¢ on Monday.

The July crude contract was up US1¢ at US$53.22 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up US4.2¢ at US$2.40 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract was up US$1.90 at US$1,331.20 an ounce and the July copper contract was up US1¢ at US$2.67 a pound.