Canadian Stocks Lack Direction, But Gold Shares Plunge -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Toronto's main index turned lower after bouncing around the unchanged line Tuesday, with gold and energy stocks coming under pressure as commodity prices tumbled.

At last check, the S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 47.51 points to 13,270.01, trimming yesterday's brief rally.

Stocks have now fallen in nine of the past ten sessions.

The Gold Idex lost more than 4 percent. Gold futures posted the lowest settlment price in more than five years.

December gold dropped $15, or 1.4%, to settle at $1,068.60 an ounce on Comex.

The Energy Index slipped 1 percent. Dec. oil dropped $1.07, or 2.6%, to settle at $40.67/bbl on Nymex, nearing a recent 3-month low.

AutoCanada (ACQ.TO) has agreed to acquire the operating assets of 417 Infiniti Nissan Limited, which owns and operates two dealerships, 417 Nissan and 417 Infiniti in Ottawa, Ontario. Shares were little changed.

Africa Oil (AOI.TO) lost nearly 7 percent. The company reported a third quarter loss of $3.68 million, compared to the loss of $5.93 million a year ago.