TORONTO -- The Toronto stock market turned lower, ending a three-day winning streak that saw Canada's main index advance almost 300 points.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 50.01 points at 14,897.50, held back mostly by mining and energy issues as oil once again fell below US$60 a barrel.
The loonie was up half a U.S. cent at 81.15 cents.
On commodity markets, the August crude oil contract lost 57 cents to US$59.70 a barrel, while August gold gave back $1.10 to US$1,171.80 an ounce.
U.S. markets steadied somewhat after a big drop Wednesday that saw the widely watched Dow Jones industrial average plunge 178 points.
But after trading just a few points lower at midafternoon, New York markets had turned sharply lower by the close. The Dow finished down 75.71 points at 17,890.36, while the Nasdaq closed down 10.22 points at 5,112.19 and the S&P 500 lost 6.27 points to 2,102.31.
