TORONTO -- Gold stocks weighed down Canada's largest stock exchange as the price of bullion retreated.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 31.17 points at 15,591.40 in early afternoon trading as the market's global gold index and its materials index saw the biggest declines.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 52.17 points to 20,471.11, while the S&P 500 index added 3.33 points to 2,345.52. The Nasdaq composite index gained 31.56 points at 5,881.03.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 74.25 cents US, down 0.48 of a cent from Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened against most other major currencies.
The June crude contract gave back 80 cents at US$52.05 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was up 5.7 cents at about US$3.20 per mmBTU.
The June gold contract was down US$10.70 at US$1283.40 an ounce and the May copper contract advanced one cent at US$2.52 a pound.
