Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market closed lower Friday as oil prices fell after Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak stepped down amid widespread protests.

The S&P/TSX composite index was 73.81 points lower to 13,766.76 while the TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.74 points to 2,357.56 .

Oil prices have been volatile this month, rising as high as around US$92 a barrel amid more than two weeks of unrest in Egypt.

The higher prices reflected concerns about the Suez Canal remaining open and unrest spreading to oil-rich Mideast countries. But that risk premium continued to unwind Friday afternoon with the March crude contract falling $1.15 to a 10-week low of US$85.58 a barrel.

“At the moment, I would say investors are focused pretty much on the impact or lack of impact on the price of oil,” said Robert Gorman, chief portfolio strategist at TD Waterhouse, adding that the Egyptian unrest really hasn’t had much of an effect on equity markets over the last 18 days of protests.

The energy sector fell just over one per cent with Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) giving up $1.02 to C$43.20 while Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) was down 88 cents to $40.25.

Many currencies traded lower as traders bought into the safe haven status of the U.S. dollar but strong trade data sent the Canadian dollar up 0.92 of a cent to 101.34 cents U.S.

Statistics Canada says that Canada’s trade balance with the rest of the world went from a deficit of $115 million in November to a surplus of $3 billion in December, the first trade surplus since February 2010.

The switch to surplus came amid a 9.7% rise in exports at the end of the year. Exports were led by a 16.5% gain in volumes of energy products.

Economists had expected that Canada’s trade balance for December would show a deficit of $300 million.

The base metal sector in Toronto stepped back even as copper prices bounced off early lows with the March contract in New York down a cent at US$4.54 a pound, down from a record high close of US$4.58 a pound last Friday. Equinox Minerals (TSX:EQN) lost 14 cents to C$6.43 while Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN) dropped 13 cents to $7.17.

Gold stocks also headed lower the precious metal shed early small gains. The April bullion contract in New York closed down US$2.10 at US$1,360.40 an ounce. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) was 62 cents lower at C$46.82 while Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) lost 31 cents to close at $16.20.

The consumer staples sector was the leading advancer as Shoppers Drug Mart (TSX:SC) shares rose 84 cents to $39.38 as it said Thursday it believes its profits will grow by as much as six per cent this year. The retailer also boosted its quarterly dividend by 11% to 25 cents per share.

New York markets were slightly higher following the Mubarak announcement and data showing the U.S. trade deficit widened in December, closing out a year in which America’s trade gap ballooned by the largest amount in a decade. The U.S. Commerce Department said the deficit in December increased 5.9% to US$40.6 billion as a 2.6% gain in imports outpaced a 1.8% rise in exports.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 43.97 points to 12,273.26. The Nasdaq composite index rose 18.99 points to 2,809.44 while the S&P 500 index was ahead 7.28 points to 1,329.15.

The TSX finished the week flat amid earnings disappointments and falling oil prices while the Dow industrials ran ahead 191 points or 1.49%.

In other corporate news, Telus Corp. (TSX:T) slipped 58 cents to $47.31 as the telecom reported that its fourth quarter profits rose to $227 million from $156 million a year ago. Revenue improved to $2.55 billion from $2.44 billion but earnings per share came in at 70 cents, falling two cents short of average analyst expectations.

Nokia shares fell 14% in New York as it signed a deal to combine forces with Microsoft to create smartphones to challenge Apple and Google and revive their own fortunes in a market they have struggled to keep up with.

EnCana’s shares dropped 99 cents to $31.03 after Industry Minister Tony Clement said he would review PetroChina’s $5.4-billion deal for half of Encana Corp.’s (TSX:ECA) Cutbank Ridge shale gas assets.