Commodities stocks pulled the Toronto benchmark index down Thursday more than 100 points as the price of oil dropped more than $4.

The S&P/TSX Composite index closed down 111.45 points, or 0.76%, at 14,577.17, as seven of the ten major TSX groups gained today.

The financials sector chugged ahead steadily as a week of quarterly bank earnings comes to a close. The group closed up 1.27%.

CIBC shares tumbled $1.39, or 1.96%, to close at $69.46, after it reported it lost $1.1 billion in the second quarter, down from a income of $807 million in the same period last year.

Also reporting today, the Royal Bank of Canada’s stock gained $1.07, or 2.16%, to finish at $50.53, after it announced its profit for the second quarter was down 27% to $928 million, or 70¢ a share. This compares with profit of $1.28 billion, or 98¢ a share in the same period last year.

National Bank of Canada shares gained 68¢, or 1.3%, to close at $53.08, after it reported second-quarter profit fell 29% as it took a $73 million hit related to asset-backed commercial paper.

Meanwhile, the energy group closed down 2.85%, as the July crude contract sank more than $4, or 3.4%, to end the session at US$126.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares in Ivanhoe Energy Inc. lost 7¢, or 2.61%, to close at $2.61, after it announced a deal with Talisman Energy Canada to buy Talisman’s stake in three leases in the oilsands. Meanwhile, Talisman stock lost 70¢, or 2.99%, to end at $22.71.

Shares in market heavyweight Encana Corp. fell $2.46, or 2.71%, to end at $88.41.

The information technology group also helped buoy markets today, closing up 1.54%. Research in Motion shares gained $1.46, or 1.07%, to end the session at $137.40.

The materials group fell 2.24%, as the gold sub-index ended the session down 3.73%.

Gold for August delivery fell US$23.30 to close at US$881.70 an ounce on the Nymex, the lowest closing level since mid-May.

Barrick Gold Corp. shares lost $1.57, or 3.89%, to end at $38.77 while Yamana Gold Inc. shares fell 60¢, or 3.93%, to end the day at $14.67.

The Canadian dollar closed at US1.0110¢ today, as Statistics Canada reported the current account surplus was pushed up to $5.6 billion in the first quarter by higher commodity prices. This is up from $3.96 billion a year ago.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 19.65 points, or 0.74%, at 2628.60.

In other business news, Costco Wholesale Corp. reported quarterly profit increased 32%, as U.S. consumers sought out bargains.

In U.S. economic news, the economy moved ahead at a rate of 0.9% growth in the first quarter, according to data released by the Commerce Department.

In New York, financials led a third day of market gains and the drop in oil prices also encouraged investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 52.19 points, or 0.41%, at 12,646.22.

The S&P 500 closed up 7.42 points, or 0.53%, to close at 1398.26.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed up 21.62 points, or 0.87%, to close at 2,508.32.