Gold stocks dragged down the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index as investors turned away from the precious metal.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 22.07 points to 15,097.84 as the December gold contract shed US$10.70 to US$1,279.70 an ounce.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained a meagre 5.28 points and fell just shy of breaking the 22,000 mark at 21,998.99.

The S&P 500 composite index fell 1.23 points to 2,464.61, while the Nasdaq composite index declined 7.22 points to 6,333.01.

The Canadian dollar was trading at an average price of US78.40¢, down 0.31 of a U.S. cent.

Elsewhere in commodities, the September crude contract lost US$0.04 to US$47.55 a barrel, the September natural gas contract fell US2.4¢ to about US$2.94 per mmBTU and the September copper contract retreated about US2.2¢ to US$2.88 a pound.