Canada's main stock index got a lift from rising U.S. markets Thursday, closing higher in spite of weakness in the financials sector.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 77.43 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 20,337.21.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 341.73 points at 33,003.57. The S&P 500 Index was up 29.96 points at 3,981.35, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 83.50 points at 11,462.98.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.45 cents U.S. compared with 73.46 cents U.S. on Wednesday.

The April crude contract was up 47 cents at US$78.16 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.77 per mm/BTU.

The April gold contract was down US$4.90 at US$1,840.50 an ounce and the May copper contract was down eight cents at US$4.08 a pound.