TSX rises on slightly higher gold price; U.S. markets close lower

TORONTO -- An uptick in the price of gold helped boost the Toronto stock market to a higher close, while U.S. markets closed lower following indications of a relatively tepid start to the holiday shopping season.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index gained 101.59 points to 13,469.83.

Meanwhile, the loonie was up 0.11 of a U.S. cent, rising to 74.89 cents U.S.

In New York, the Dow Jones average of 30 stocks slipped 78.57 points to 17,719.92, while the broader S&P 500 lost 9.70 points to 2,080.41 and the Nasdaq gave back 18.85 points to 5,108.67.

On commodity markets, the February contract for gold rose $9.10 to US$1,065.30 an ounce, while March copper fell one cent to US$2.05 a pound.

The January contract for benchmark crude fell six cents to US$41.65 a barrel, while January natural gas advanced 2.3 cents to US$2.235 per mmBtu.