TORONTO -- Gold and materials stocks pushed the Toronto stock market to a slightly lower close, while south of the border markets rallied.

The S&P/TSX composite index gave back 28.69 points to 14,725.86.

The Canadian dollar was trading at 76.24 cents US, up 0.19 of a cent.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average shot up 164.70 points to 18,308.15, the Nasdaq composite gained 42.85 points to 5,312.00 and the S&P 500 increased by 17.14 points to 2,168.27.

December gold contracts were down $8.90 at US$1,317.10 per ounce, while the November crude contract rose 41 cents to US$48.24 a barrel.

November natural gas contracts were down five cents to US$2.91 per mmBTU and December copper was up two cents to US$2.21 a pound.