Equities on the Toronto stock market closed out 2007 with a small gain on Monday as the S&P/TSX composite index ended a fifth straight year of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed with a gain of 11.72, or 0.08%, at 13,833.06 on the day.

For the year, the benchmark index was up 7.2% after posting double-digits in each of the previous four years.

Equities finished a roller-coaster year that saw indices swayed by the fallout from subprime mortgages, the credit crunch and the likelihood of an economic slowdown in the United States.

On Monday, seven of the 10 TSX main groups moved higher, but by relatively small amounts. The energy sector added 0.03%, while financials gained 0.26%. The resource-heavy materials group inched 0.05% lower.

After closing out 2006 at US85.81¢, the Canadian dollar soared in 2007 as the greenback weakened, reaching parity with the U.S. dollar on September 20, and then rising to a peak of US$1.10 in early November.

The loonie cooled off slightly towards the year’s end. On the last day of 2007, the dollar slipped 1.11¢ to end the year worth US$1.0088.

On Wall Street, stocks concluded 2007 with a losing session due to ongoing economic worries.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 101.05 points, or 0.76%, to end at 13,264.82. The S&P 500 slipped 10.13 points, or 0.69%, to 1,468.36. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 22.18 points, or 0.83%, to 2,652.28.

For the year, the Nasdaq composite index rose 9.8% — outshining the broad S&P 500, which gained 3.5%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which climbed 6.4%.

For the fourth quarter, though, all three major U.S. stock indexes had a loss.