Toronto stocks were down Thursday, as falling oil prices led to a sell-off in the energy sector that sank a drop in the broader market despite the release positive economic news.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 91.28 points, or 0.86%, to 10,565.26.

Volume on the senior exchange was 251 million shares.

Half of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the energy index off 4.44%.

Crude dropped $1.13 to settle at US$57.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange as recent reports showing higher than expected inventories in the U.S.

Sector stalwart EnCana Corp. was off $2.65, or 5.01%, to $50.22, while Suncor was down $2.04, or 5.54%, to $51.88.

The information technology sector was up on the day, appreciating 1.79%

Volatile stock Research in Motion was up $4.63, or 7.56%, to $65.85 as investors were hopeful the company would resolve a patent dispute that threatens to prevent it from selling its Blackberry handheld devices into the U.S.

The telecommunications sector was down 0.29%

Telus Corp., announced a 21.4 per cent jump in third-quarter profit to $190.1 million. Its shares gained 17¢, or 0.38%, to $45.42.

Drugstore operator Jean Coutu Group Inc. announced its founder, Jean Coutu, would be replacing his son, Francois Coutu, as chief executive to deal with the integration of recent U.S. acquisitions. Shares in the firm dropped $1.31, or 9.45%, to $12.55.

Statistics Canada reported Canada’s trade surplus with the world reached $7 billion in September. The August surplus was adjusted upward by $800 million to $6.4 billion.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished down 22.67 points, or 1.11%, to 2,015.60.

In the U.S., falling oil prices and the federal government’s largest selloff of Treasury bonds, which fuelled hopes that the Federal Reserve might come off its policy of hiking rates, offset reports that the U.S. governments trade imbalance had hit a monthly record of $66.1 billion in September.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 93.89, or 0.89%, to 10,640.10, the S&P500 index rose 10.31, or 0.84%, to 1,230.96, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 20.87, or 0.96%, to 2,196.68.