Middle East tanker attack lifts oil prices and North American stock markets

Two tankers were attacked on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman

An attack on oil tankers in the Middle East sent crude prices higher to the benefit of North American stock markets.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 12.02 points to 16,239.26.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 101.94 points at 26,106.77. The S&P 500 index was up 11.80 points at 2,891.64, while the Nasdaq composite was up 44.41 points at 7,837.13.

The Canadian dollar traded for an average of US75.05¢ compared with an average of US75.17¢ on Wednesday.

The July crude contract was up US$1.14 at US$52.28 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was down US6.1¢ at US$2.32 per mmBTU.

The August gold contract was up US$6.90 at US$1,343.70 an ounce and the July copper contract was up US0.25¢ at US$2.66 a pound.