Declining oil prices weighed on Toronto stocks Thursday. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 20.33 points, or 0.21%, to close at 9,619.26.

Energy shares fell 1.86%. as the price of oil slid 79¢ to US$47.54 a barrel on sturdy U.S. inventories.

Encana gave back $2.84, or 3.59%, to $76.29, a day after its shares hit new highs on news its proven natural gas reserves rose 24% in 2004.

Canadian Natural Resources fell $1.85, or 2.75%, to finish at $65.50.

The losses were tempered by a 1.13% gain in the materials index as investors continued to reward strong earnings reports.

Barrick Gold rose 65¢, or 2.26%, to $29.40 after it said it doubled its fourth-quarter earnings.

Inco was among the index’s most active issues, gaining $2.20, or 4.71%, to $48.90, a day after forecasting a nickel shortage until its giant Voisey’s Bay mine on Canada’s East Coast opens in 2006.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index bucked the down trend rising 19.12 points, or 1.01%, 1,919.49.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, as concerns about rising interest rates, and mixed economic data weighed on equities.

The decline ended a five-day rally on the S&P and pushed the Dow back into negative territory for the year so far.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress for the second day in a row that interest rates were “fairly low,” a signal that they will keep rising.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 80.62 points, or 0.74%, at 10,754.26. The S&P 500 I was down 9.59 points, or 0.79%, at 1,200.75. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 26.09 points, or 1.25%, at 2,061.34.