Toronto stocks closed lower for the fourth straight session Wednesday as commodity prices retreated. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 97.55 points, or 1.01%, to end the day at 9,549.67.

Volume was 263 million shares.

Overall, seven of the 10 TSX main groups closed lower.

The TSX energy group lost 2.1% of its value as oil prices lost more than US$2 a barrel.

The materials group tumbled 2.21%. Alcan fell $1.36 to $45.70; Inco fell $1.28 to $47.88.

Uranium producer Cameco dropped $3.61 to $53. The shares have soared recently as uranium spot prices climbed.

Shares in Ashton Mining sparkled following the finding of two big diamonds on its property in northern Quebec. Ashton shares soared 32% in heavy trading, up 43¢ to $1.78.

Ivanhoe Mines shares fell 56¢, or 6%, to $9.54, as its losses rose on higher mine development costs.

The gold sector lost ground, echoing a $6.10-an-ounce drop in the price of bullion futures to US$425.20 an ounce. Bema Gold lost 8¢ to $3.25 as it reported its Q4 loss more than doubled on writedowns and startup costs.

Among individual stocks, Nortel dropped 10¢ to $3.30. Bombardier fell 15¢ to $2.62 after it confirmed that it had lost a $1 billion contract with the Canadian military to train pilots.

Industrial supplier Wajax saw its shares soar 11% after it said it would convert to an income trust.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 34.16 points, or 1.73%, to finish at 1,939.17

The Canadian dollar fell 0.49¢ to US82.20¢.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 14.49 points, or 0.14%, to 10,456.02 as relief over lower oil prices was offset by concern over the implications of higher inflation.

The U.S. government reported that the CPI rose by a larger-than-expected 0.4% in February.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 0.88 points to 1,990.22, while the broader S&P 500 edged up 0.82 of a point to 1,172.53.