Energy and financial issues dragged the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange lower on Thursday.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 42.14 points or 0.3%, to close at 13,509.55.

The energy sector fell 1.6% as oil prices slipped from Wednesday’s record-high close. Crude oil for April delivery fell US$1.47 to settle at US$98.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

EnCana shed 77¢ to $71.

The financial sector gave back 0.6% as National Bank moved down $1.40 to $50.85 while Royal Bank declined 51 cents to $50.39.

After markets closed, RBC announced plans to acquire asset manager Phillips, Hager & North for 27 million RBC shares.

Bullion prices hit fresh record highs, and the TSX gold sector rose 0.3%. The April bullion contract on the Nymex climbed US$11.40 to US$949.20 an ounce after earlier hitting a record intraday high of US$958.40 an ounce.

Barrick Gold shares were up 30¢ to $51.12 after the company announced it is paying US$1.7 billion for a Rio Tinto subsidiary’s 40% interest in the Cortez joint venture in Nevada. Barrick also reported fourth-quarter profit jumped 28% to US$537 million.

Shares in Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. fell $1.37 to $66.56 after the company reported a record fourth-quarter profit of US$65.2 million.

Among individual stocks, shares of Research in Motion Ltd. soared after the BlackBerry maker said net subscriber additions are expected to be 15% to 20% higher than the 1.82 million new accounts it predicted on Dec. 20.

RIM shares jumped $8.96, or 9%, to $108.

The junior TSX Venture Exchange gained 18.32 points, or 0.69%, to 2,660.81.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.16 of a cent to US$98.88¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell as energy shares retreated and the U.S. Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators, a gauge of future economic activity, fell 0.1% last month.

It was the fourth consecutive month the index had weakened.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 142.96 points, or 1.15%, to end at 12,284.30. The S&P 500 slid 17.50 points, or 1.29%, to 1,342.53.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 27.32 points, or 1.17%, to 2,299.78.

Also, the February Philadelphia Fed, a regional manufacturing survey, showed worse contraction in the area than expected.