Toronto stock market closes lower

TORONTO - The Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower Thursday, led by declines in the metals and mining and global gold sectors, while the loonie continued its slide. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 41.75 points to close at 14,265.37. Meanwhile, the loonie was down 0.01 of a cent at 76.69 cents US, slipping below Wednesday's close of 76.70 cents US - its lowest closing price in more than a decade. The September contract for crude oil was down 74 cents at US$48.45, while the August natural gas contract was down 8.1 cents at US$2.816. The August gold contract rose $2.60 to at US$1,094.10. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 119.09 points to 17,731.95, while the Nasdaq lost 25.36 points to close at 5,146.41 and the S&P 500 gave back 12 points, ending the day at 2,102.15.