TORONTO -- North American stock markets headed higher following U.S. president-elect Donald Trump's first news conference since the election last November.
Wall Street rebounded from losses incurred during the media availability where Trump addressed various topics including how the government needs to overhaul how it buys drugs from pharmaceutical companies.
The Dow Jones industrial average finished 98.75 points higher at 19,954.28, just short of hitting the 20,000 barrier. The S&P 500 was up 6.42 points at 2,275.32, while the Nasdaq composite added 11.83 points at 5,563.65 to hit another record close.
In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 65.26 points at 15,491.54, lifted by gains in metals and financials stocks.
The Canadian dollar rallied 0.29 of a U.S. cent at 75.89 cents US, as the price of oil recovered some of the week's earlier losses. February crude contracts were up $1.43 at US$52.25 per barrel.
In other commodities, the February gold contract added $11.10 to US$1,196.60 per ounce, February natural gas dipped five cents to US$3.22 per mmBTU and March copper contracts were unchanged at US$2.61 a pound.
