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President Barack Obama arriving at the TransCanada Stillwater Pipe Yard in Cushing, Okla., March 22, 2012. The wild and unexpectedly speedy ride of Keystone XL legislation through the U.S. Congress late Wednesday had supporters of Canadian oil hopeful of a celebratory end to the project's six years of stagnation. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisThe Associated Press

The Toronto stock market was slightly higher mid-morning Friday amid a strong collection of economic data from Canada and the U.S.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 8.37 points to 14,787.14 led by gains in the energy and mining sectors.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.45 of a cent to 88.35 cents (U.S.) amid better than expected readings on Canadian manufacturing and U.S. retail sales.

Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 2.1 per cent to $53.0-billion in September, rebounding from a sharp 3.5 per cent drop the previous month and much stronger than the 1.1 per cent gain that economists had estimated.

U.S. markets were mixed as retail sales rose 0.3 per cent last month after falling by the same amount in September. Excluding gas stations, where falling prices lowered spending, sales rose 0.5 per cent. Also, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose 2.5 points to a reading of 89, the strongest reading since 2007.

The reaction was muted as the Dow industrials and S&P 500 are near or at record high levels following a short, shallow retracement last month and analysts are looking for a catalyst to boost indexes further.

The Dow Jones industrials edged up 1.15 points to 17,653.94, the Nasdaq fell 2.96 points to 4,677.18 while the S&P 500 index slipped 0.18 of a point to 2,039.15.

The TSX energy sector was ahead 0.7 per cent while the December crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $1.14 to $75.35 (U.S.) a barrel following a $3 plunge on Thursday. The group tumbled three per cent Thursday after data showed that U.S. crude supplies decreased 1.7 million barrels last week, much more than the 500,000 barrel drop that analysts had expected. However, gasoline inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels against an expected 280,000 decrease.

An imbalance between supply and demand has helped drive crude prices down by about 30 per cent from the highs of the summer, when Iraqi oil supplies were threatened by Islamic State forces. Many analysts think the dive to the mid-70s won't last and point to economic fundamentals suggesting oil should be trading around the $90 level.

Markets are looking ahead to OPEC's next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 27, where members will decide whether to cut production in order to support higher prices.

The gold sector was ahead 0.55 cent as the December gold bullion contract gained $4.80 to $1,166.30 an ounce. That TSX gold sector has plunged 14 per cent in the past month while bullion prices have headed steadily downward, pressed in part by a U.S. dollar that strengthened as the Federal Reserve removed its last quantitative easing stimulus at the end of October.

The December copper contract was ahead four cents at $3.04 a pound and the base metals sector climbed 0.45 per cent.

Meanwhile, markets will be watching the U.S. Congress Friday as the House of Representatives votes on a bill to approve TransCanada's Keystone XL oil pipeline. A separate Senate vote is expected early next week. But the big question is whether a positive vote for the pipeline will be vetoed by President Barrack Obama. TransCanada shares were off 32 cents to $56.13.

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