Canadian stocks close lower on plunging gold, oil prices

Canada's main stock market in Toronto on Friday failed to resume the winning streak due to weak resources shares after both gold and oil prices dropped sharply.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index was down 56.95 points, or 0.42 percent, to conclude this week's trading at 13,368.24 points, as a slight gain in non-resources stocks was overpowered by a big slump in resources shares.

The mining sector led the fall by 2.65 percent when gold price hit a nearly six-year low over the stronger US dollar, while the energy sector also tumbled 1.44 percent as oil prices plummeted due to the oversupply concern, Xinhua news agency reported.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the most active gold contract for February delivery lost $13.5, or 1.26 percent, to settle at $1,056.2 per ounce, and the light, sweet crude for December delivery moved down $1.33 to settle at $41.71 a barrel on Friday.