Toronto stocks dropped Thursday, as the broader exchange was waylaid by lower commodity prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 134.04, or 1.09%, to 12,187.69. The announcement that the Chinese central bank would raise interest rates by a quarter point caused the downturn in commodities prices.

Seven of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the energy index falling 1.63%.

Crude for June delivery closed down 96¢ at US$70.97 a barrel.

EnCana Corp. fell $1.12, or 1.93%, to $57.00.

The gold index, a sub-set of the materials sector, lost 4.34%.

Gold for June delivery closed down $5.70 at US$636.30 an ounce.

Kinross Gold Corp. lost 45¢, or 3.28%, to $13.25.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.43 cent to US89.04¢, its first close above 89¢ since late 1991.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index fell 42.46, or 1.37%, to 3,051.87.

In New York, markets were up as the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman suggested the cycle of rate hikes might be coming to an end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed off its highs, up 28.02 points at 11,382.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 11.32 points to 2,344.95 while the S&P 500 Index added 4.31 points to 1,309.72.

Ben Bernanke seemed to suggested that a pause in U.S. rate increases could be ahead, though he warned that escalating energy price might lead to hikes.