The Toronto Stock Exchange kicked off the first trading day of November with gains, but as plunging oil prices set in among energy producers late in the day, the benchmark index slipped into the red.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 41.50 points, or 0.42% at 9,721.26.

The loss was led by the heavyweight energy group, which shed 3.66% after oil futures closed down almost 6%. Crude oil for December delivery fell US$3.90, or 5.8%, to close at US$63.91 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Within the energy group, shares of Suncor Energy Inc. slipped 6.15% to end at $27.17 and EnCana Corp. shares fell 4.46% to finish at $58.50.

The materials group dipped 1.27% despite rising gold futures. Gold for December delivery gained US$8.60, or 1.2%, to end US$726.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The sub-gold index decreased by 1.97%.

Barrick Gold Corp. fell 4.5% to close at $26.32 and Goldcorp Inc. slipped 1.64% to end at $22.17.

Other materials companies defied the trend, including First Quantum Minerals Ltd., up 5.1% to $26.70 and Teck Cominco Ltd., up by 6.67% to finish the day at $12.80.

Shares of silver miner Silver Wheaton Corp. gained 3.1% to close at $4.33 after the company reported third quarter profit of US$20.2 million, up from US$19.2 million in the same period last year.

The financials group gained 1.2% Monday, including a rise of 8.25% for Manulife Financial Corp. shares, which closed at $26.11, and a 4% gain for shares of Sun Life Financial Inc., which closed at $29.50.

Other financial gainers included Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., up 2.88% to $340.53, and Canadian Western Bank, up 5.1% to $19.38.

The Canadian dollar gained more than a cent and a half against the U.S. dollar, finishing the day at US84.68¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture index increased by 20.29 points, or 2.22%, to close at 935.59.

In New York, markets closed on Monday with little change from Friday’s close as investor awaited the outcome of tomorrrow’s U.S. presidential election.

The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 5.18 points, or 0.1%, to close at 9,319.83. The S&P 500 index shed 2.45 points, or 0.2%, to close at 966.3, and the Nasdaq composite index gained 5.38 points, or 0.31% to end at 1,726.33.