TORONTO -- The Canadian dollar was up nearly half a cent against the U.S. dollar in late-morning trading as it closed in on the 80-cent mark.

The loonie was up 0.49 of a cent at 79.74 cents US amid broad weakness in the greenback.

The gain came as the June contract for benchmark North American crude oil climbed nine cents at US$45.42.

Elsewhere on the commodity markets, June gold gained US$9.10 at US$1,259.50 per troy ounce, while June natural gas fell six cents to US$2.093 per mmBtu.

Meanwhile, North American stock markets were mixed, with the Toronto market heading higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 48.59 points at 13,936.25.

Shares of Bombardier were up six cents at $2.07 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after it announced Delta Air Lines has placed a big order of CSeries jets worth at least US$5.6 billion, based on list prices.

Delta has placed a firm order for 75 CS100 aircraft with options for an additional 50 CS100 aircraft in what would be the largest order for the CSeries passenger planes.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average fell 21.10 points at 18,020.45, while the S&P500 gained 1.88 points at 2,097.03.

The Nasdaq composite gains 23.90 points at 4,887.04.