The energy and health care sectors gained ground as Canada’s main stock index edged higher in late-morning trading.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 13.08 points to 16,172.75, after 90 minutes of trading.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 102.39 points to 24,829.04. The S&P 500 index was down 8.58 points to 2,687.83 and the Nasdaq composite index was up 10.19 points to 6,971.15.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 78.57 cents US, up from an average price of 77.87 cents US on Wednesday as Statistics Canada said the annual pace of inflation increased to 2.1 per cent in November.

The February crude contract was down four cents to US$58.05 per barrel and the January natural gas contract up two cents to US$2.66 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down US$1.30 to US$1,268.30 an ounce and the March copper contract was up one cent to US$3.21 a pound.