TORONTO — Canada's main stock index recovered from an earlier drop Tuesday to close the day slightly ahead.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 11.05 points to 15,618.93.

In New York, markets were mixed, but also recovered from bigger drops earlier.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64.10 points to 24,099.05. At one point Tuesday, it had shed more than 350 points.

The S&P 500 index gained 6.75 points to 2,654.80 and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 64.43 points to 7,130.70.

The June gold contract shed US$12.40 to US$1,306.80 an ounce and the July copper contract declined about three cents to roughly US$3.04 a pound.

Both commodities were nearing psychologically important levels — US$1,300 for gold and US$3.00 for copper, said Dominique Barker, a portfolio manger at CIBC Asset Management. That is pushing up the U.S. dollar, which investors turn to as a safe haven when other stores of value drop, she said.

The loonie was trading at 77.72 cents US, down 0.19 of a U.S. cent.

Elsewhere in commodities, the June crude contract fell US$1.32 to US$67.25 per barrel and the June natural gas contract rose roughly four cents to US$2.80 per mmBTU.