Toronto stocks closed lower Thursday, and New York markets plummeted after rising oil prices had Wall Street investors feeling singularly bearish.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 53.11 points, or 0.53%, to close 9,998.38.

The senior exchange was unable to hold to the gains made in the previous session, when the index closed above the 10,000 mark for the first time since October 2004.

Volume was 215 million shares.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the information technology sector losing 1.97% and industrials down 1.45%

A barrel of light crude settled at US$59.42, up $1.33, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Despite the rise in oil prices, EnCana Corp. shares fell $1.09, or 2.14%, to close $49.90.

ATI Technologies Inc., reported a third-quarter loss, versus a year-ago profit of $48.6 million US, lower than had been expected. The computer graphics chip maker lost 98¢, or 7.67%, to close $11.80.

In the industrials sector, WestJet Airlines lost 50¢, or 3.42% to close at $14.10, while CP Ships lost 60¢, or 3.11%, to finish $18.70.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 4.35, or 0.25%, to finish 1,715.71.

In New York, markets were shaken by the spiking price of oil and its negative effect on industrials.

The blue chip Dow Jones industrial average nose-dived 166.49 points, or 1.57%, to close at 10,421.44, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 21.37, or 1.02%, to 2,070.66, and the broad based S&P 500 index shed 13.15, or 1.08%, to close 1,200.73.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 20,000 this week to 314,000, which bettered expectations and gave evidence the American job market remained strong, but gave fuel to inflation and higher interest rate fears.