In the wake of yesterday’s sizzling rally, Toronto stocks drifted lower Wednesday, as the heavily weighted financials group was dragged down by the news of CIBC’s massive Enron settlement. The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 22.43 points, or 0.21%, to end at 10,598.79.

Volume was a robust 277 million shares.

Financial stocks fell 1.10% in response to the late Tuesday news of CIBC’s US$2.4 billion settlement of an Enron shareholder class-action suit. CIBC shares fell $6.09, or 7.55%, to $74.55.

Toronto Dominion Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada are also named in the Enron suit, though no agreements have been reached. TD stocks lost 98¢, or 1.73%, to $55.79, while RBC fell 1.62, or 2.04%, to $77.76.

U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery fell US$1.03 to US$60.86 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after a U.S. petroleum report showed a rise in crude stockpiles. Earlier in the day, the price of crude had continued its recent rally, hitting a record high of US$62.50.

The energy sector fell 0.38%.

Petro Canada shares were down $1.09, or 1.18%, to close $90.91.

BCE reported second-quarter revenue of $4.98 billion, up 4.2% from $4.78 billion in the same period last year. The telecom giant said that it had gained market share in its wireless, Internet and video business, but was facing stiff competition from cable-TV companies on its telephone services. BCE shares fell 7¢, or 0.23%, to $30.13.

Jean Coutu Group reported fourth-quarter profit jumping to $46.2 million from a year-earlier 32.6 million US. The drugstore company also said it planned to close 78 stores in the US under its Eckerd banner. Its shares lifted $1.24, or 6.79%, to $19.50.

Gold for December delivery rose US$5 to US$442.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest finish since June 30.

The gold sector was up 4.94% for the day. Miner Barrick Gold Corp.’s shared lifted 78¢, or 3.10%, to close $25.98.

The Canadian dollar closed at 82.24¢US, up 0.02 of a cent.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 15.38, or 0.85%, to 1,821.78.

In New York, markets were mixed as investors factored in lower oil prices, a disappointing economic report and corporate news from Time Warner and Adidas, respectively.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 13.85, or 0.13%, to 10,697.59; the tech heavy Nasdaq fell a meager 1.34 points, or 0.06%, to 2,216.81; and the broad based S&P 500 index rose 0.92, or 0.07%, to 1,245.04.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management index of service-sector activity fell to 60.5 in July, down from 62.2 in June, disappointing analysts who had been expecting a reading of 61.

Time Warner fell 0.9% to US$17.27 after the media conglomerate said it will set aside US$3 billion to settle lawsuits filed by investors over the 2000 merger with America Online Inc. The company also posted earnings that, ex one-time charges, were short of analysts’ expectations.

German sports apparel company Adidas-Salomon AG will purchase Reebok International Ltd. for US$3.8 billion, or US$59 per share in attempt to better position itself against market leader Nike Inc. Reebok surged ahead 30% to US$57.14, while Nike gained 1.3%.