Better-than-expected retail sales in the U.S. and G20 finance officials meeting in Paris buoyed markets at midday on Friday after an up-and-down week of trading.
At midday in Toronto the benchmark S&P/TSX composite index was up about 73 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 11,985.
The price of crude oil rose $2.18 to $86.41 U.S. a barrel in New York at midday, while gold gained $2.50 to $1,671.00 U.S. an ounce.
The Canadian dollar was ahead by 55 basis points to 98.62 cents U.S..
U.S. retail sales rose 1.1 per cent in September, where analysts had forecast a gain of 0.8 per cent.
Also on Friday, G20 finance ministers and central bankers began meeting in Paris, where they are expected to pressure European officials to start taking concrete steps to rein in the region's sovereign debt problem.
"The first priority . . . is for Europe to put their own house in order," Australia's Treasurer, Wayne Swan, told Bloomberg.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up by about 78 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 11,556 at midday, while the Nasdaq composite index was ahead by 22 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 2,642.48.
Markets in Asia fell on Friday. Tokyo's Nikkei dropped 0.85 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.36 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE rose 0.91 per cent, the CAC in Paris gained 0.83 per cent and the DAX in Frankfurt edged upward by 0.73 per cent.
