Canada's main stock index edged upward Wednesday after falling more than one per cent the day before, while U.S. markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was up 70.99 points, or 0.35 per cent, at 20,346.53.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 58.06 points at 32,798.40. The S&P 500 Index was up 5.64 points at 3,992.01, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 45.67 points at 11,576.00.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.54 cents U.S. compared with 72.90 cents US on Tuesday.

The April crude contract was down 92 cents at US$76.66 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was down 14 cents at US$2.55 per mm/BTU.

The April gold contract was down US$1.40 at US$1,818.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up five cents at US$4.03 a pound.