Toronto stocks were broadly lower at midday Tuesday, digesting the previous session’s big gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 27.85 points, or 0.3%, to 8,485.57

Decliners led advancers 477 to 443 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

All 10 of the TSE’s 10 sector gauges were in the red.

Energy was down 0.5%, despite another rise in crude prices to near US$45 a barrel.

Gold stocks were the only stocks to show any strength. The S&P/TSX Canadian Gold sub-index added 0.7% as gold futures climbed above US$408 an ounce for the first time in nearly two weeks

Penny stock Thistle Mining soared soared 35% to 13¢ after the firm announced positive exploration results for its President Steyn Gold Mine in South Africa.

Another notable exception to today’s malaise was resort operator Intrawest, which earned US$2.6 million, or US5¢, in the fourth quarter ended June 30, besting analysts’ expectations of a loss for the period. The shares rose almost 5% to $21.70 on the TSX.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite Index of small-cap issues rose 1.26 points to 1,1514.91.

The Canadian dollar was at US77.34¢versus the U.S. dollar, up from yesterday’s US76.84¢ close.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 12.61 points at 10,337.37. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 2.37 points to 1,912.7, while the broader S&P 500 climbed 1.87 to 1,127.69.

In U.S. economic news, retail sales fell 0.3% in August — more than the 0.1% drop that Wall Street analysts had been projecting — but sales excluding autos rose 0.2%, matching expectations.