The Toronto stock market drifted to a slightly higher close last Wednesday thanks in large part to rising financial stocks after the U.S. Federal Reserve announced it is keeping its key interest rate unchanged. But the TSX was held back by energy stocks on fresh signs of lower demand. New York markets were ahead as the Fed left its key rate at two per cent while traders took in data showing a much better than expected durable goods orders report and more glum housing news.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index moved 31.53 points higher to 14,441.13. The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 25.21 points to 2,534.47 Wednesday. The Canadian dollar climbed 0.08 of a cent to 98.94 cents US.

New York's Dow Jones industrial average inched up 4.4 points to 11,811.83. The Nasdaq index jumped 32.98 points to 2,401.26 while the S&P 500 added 7.68 points to 1,321.97 after the Commerce Department reported that orders for big-ticket items were unchanged last month, compared with expectations of a 1.1 per cent decrease. Orders for aircraft and computers offset weakness elsewhere.