The Toronto Stock Exchange kicked off Thursday with strong gains, but a drop in commodity stocks pulled the benchmark index 1% lower by day’s end.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 91.48 points to close at 9,324.83.

The index rose 6.9% in April, adding to its 7.4% rise in March.

On Thursday, gold for June delivery lost US$9.30, or 1%, to end at US$891.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract ended the month down 3.7%.

The slip in gold prices pulled down materials stocks by 2.1% on Thursday, and the sub-gold index tumbled 3.9%.

Shares of Kinross Gold Corp. fell 3.7% to $18.39 and Goldcorp Inc. dropped 4.1% to $32.62.

Barrick Gold Inc. fell 3.1% to $34.55 and shares of Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. retreated by 4.8% to $52.75.

Shares of Teck Cominco Ltd. surged after the company announced that it had entered an agreement regarding the proposed sale of its 40% interest in the Pogo mine in Alaska. Teck shares shed $0.40 to $14.95.

Energy stocks retreated 1.6% as oil futures slipped slightly lower. Crude for June delivery rose US$0.15, or 0.3%, to end at US$51.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Talisman Energy Inc. fell 2.6% to $14.95 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. slipped 1.3% to $55.01

Units of Canadian Oil Sands Trust tumbled 6.3% a day after the company reported that its first quarter earnings plummeted 86% to $43 million. The units closed at $24.64, down $1.66.

The financials group fell 0.5% during Thursday’s trading.

Bank of Nova Scotia fell 3% to $33.94 and TMX Group Inc. shares gave back a hefty $2.00, or 5.9%, to finish at $32.09.

Advancers included Power Corp., up 1.8% to $22.31 and Manulife Financial Corp., up 1% to $20.32.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gave up 4.99 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 1,008.98.

The Canadian dollar added 0.69¢ to finish at US83.82¢.

Stocks south of the border finished the day with mixed results, and left the main stock market indexes up sharply for the month of April.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.61 points, or 0.2%, to end at 8,168.12. For the month of April, the blue-chip index gained 7.3%.

The S&P 500 index slipped just 0.83 of a point, or 0.1%, to finish at 872.81. The index added a substantial 9.4% for April.

The Nasdaq composite index rose 5.36 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 1,717.30, leaving the technology-laden index with a monthly gain of 12.3%.