The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange closed lower for the fifth straight session as falling commodity prices dragged down resources shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 113.93 points, or 0.77%, to 14,602.59. Four of the 10 TSX main sectors ended lower.

The energy and materials groups fell 1.4% and 0.95%, respectively, as gold and oil prices were pressured by a gaining U.S. dollar.

Crude for July delivery climbed 36¢ to close at US$136.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, near the day’s peak of US$137.05. The contract had spent most of the day on the decline.

Gold for August delivery recovered slightly to end US$10.90 lower at US$872.00 an ounce on the Nymex.

Suncor Energy was down $2.89, or 4.2%, at $65.87.

Agnico-Eagle Mines lost $2.55, or 3.8%, to $64.75.

The technology sector was able to add 1.7%, with help from a second day of big gains from Nortel Networks. Nortel was up 80 Canadian cents, or 8.5%, at $10.22 a day after it gave an upbeat presentation of its business plans.

Among individual stocks, Transat AT reported a drop in second-quarter profit, but its performance was still better than analysts had expected. Transat shares climbed $1.67, or 8.6%, to $21.08.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slipped 4.30 points, or 0.16%, to 2,634.26.

The Canadian dollar fell to US97.73¢ from US98.04¢ at Wednesday’s close.

In New York, U.S. stocks rose after a stronger-than-expected May retail sales report and a US$46 billion takeover bid for Anheuser-Busch restored investor optimism.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 57.81 points, or 0.48%, at 12,141.58. The S&P 500 added 4.38 points, or 0.33%, to 1,349.87. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 10.34 points, or 0.43% to end at 2,404.35.