North American stock markets kicked off the day on a positive note, but erased all gains in late-day trading, pushing the TSX down more than 200 points by Thursday’s close.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 239.14 points, or 2.9%, to finish at 8,057.82.

The heavyweight energy group suffered the most, losing 7.5% on Thursday as oil futures fell for a fifth straight day. Crude for January delivery ended down US$3.12, or 6.7%, at US$43.67 on the New York Mercantile Exchange — its lowest closing level since January 2005.

Shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. plunged 13.5% to $41 and EnCana Corp. shares fell 5.8% to $49.82.

Nexen Inc. shares dropped another 12.2% to $19.00 following takeover speculation that failed to materialize.

Imperial Oil Ltd. fell 8.5% to $36.60 and Suncor Energy Inc. slid 7.3% to $21.58.

The materials group also moved lower, shedding 2.7% as gold futures dipped slightly. Gold for February delivery closed down US$5.00, or 0.6%, at US$765.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The sub-gold index slid 1.3%.

Shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. fell $1.40, or 3.7% to end the day at $37.00 and Teck Cominco Ltd.’s B-class shares fell 6.9% to $4.05.

Potash Corp. fell 4.8% to $62.89 and Agrium Inc. dipped 3.3% to close at $31.27.

Financial companies on the TSX dropped 2.5% as more of the banks unveiled their fourth quarter results and others forecasted bleak times ahead.

CIBC reported that fourth-quarter profit fell 51% due to a variety of securities writedowns and mark-to-market losses. Its shares gained 1.9% to end at $46.18.

Toronto-Dominion Bank shares slipped 1.4% to $41.92 after it reported a 7% drop in quarterly profit on writedowns for credit trading losses.

Shares of National Bank of Canada dropped $2.27, or 6%, to $35.55 after it announced an increase in fourth quarter profit to $70 million, even though the bank took writedowns for commercial paper, staff layoffs and other items.

Shares of Canadian Western Bank tumbled $2.16, or 14.2%, to $13.04 after CEO Larry Pollock said global financial volatility and economic woes would likely hamper the bank’s performance in fiscal 2009.

Shares of Research in Motion Ltd. fell 2.2% to $47.84 on news that the BlackBerry-maker isn’t the only company interested in taking over Mississauga, Ont.-based Certicom Corp.

Women’s clothing retailer Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. reported third quarter earnings that fell 16% to $23 million, as same-store sales fell 1.2%. Its shares rose 0.23% to $8.73.

The S&P/TSX Venture index lost 14.22 points, or 2%, to finish at 697.86.

The Canadian dollar lost more value against its American counterpart, shedding a cent and a half to close at US78.24¢.

In New York, U.S. stocks also saw hefty drops Thursday, following news that unemployment numbers hit a 26-year high last month, and U.S. factory orders fell sharply for the third month in a row.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 215.45 points, or 2.5%, to end the day at 8,376.24.

The Nasdaq composite index dipped 46.82 points, or 3.14%, to finish at 1,445.56.

The S&P 500 index slipped 25.52 points, or 2.9% to close at 845.22.