Toronto stocks closed lower on Friday as investors locked in profits ahead of the weekend. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 32.63 points, or 0.36%, to 9,141.78.

Volume was 256 million shares.

For the week, the TSX benchmark index rose 0.6%.

Eight of the 10 TSX groups finished lower.

The energy index slid 0.78%, while the heavily-weighted financial index dropped 0.55%.

Energy stocks were a drag on the market as oil prices fell 3.4% to US$47.18 a barrel because OPEC signaled it would likely keep output unchanged at this weekend’s meeting.

The sector was also hit by profit-taking after a five days of solid gains.

Talisman Energy dropped 75¢, or 2%, to $36.42, while Petro-Canada shares closed 70¢, or 1%, lower at $63.15.

Cott led the consumer staples group lower after the world’s largest maker of store-brand soft drinks issued a fourth-quarter profit that was weaker than expected. Shares of Cott dropped 67¢, or 2%, to $29.28.

Shares of Molson fell 63¢, or 1.6%, to $37.72 after its shareholders approved a plan to merge with Adolph Coors Co.

Shares in Celestica also ended lower, a day after the maker of electronics components posted a big quarterly loss and announced plans to cut up to 15% of its global workforce. Celestica shares fell down 71¢, or 4.28%, at $15.89.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 5.53 points, or 0.31%, to end at 1,809.49.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, dragged down by a sharp fall in drugmaker Merck on concerns about a key drug, worries ahead of the Iraq election and weaker-than-expected economic growth.

Dow component Merck tumbled more than 10% as it said a federal judge ruled that its second-biggest product, the osteoporosis drug Fosamax, will lose its U.S. patent protection 10 years earlier than expected.

The market failed to get a lift from consumer products company Procter & Gamble announcing a US$57 billion stock deal to buy Gillette.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 40.20 points, or 0.38%, to finish at 10,427.20. The S&P 500 Index was down 3.19 points, or 0.27%, to close at 1,171.36. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 11.32 points, or 0.55%, to end at 2,035.83.

However, all three indexes ended higher for the week. The Dow ended up 0.32%, the S&P 500 finished up 0.29%, and the Nasdaq closed up 0.08%.