TSX Slides As Gold Shares Plunge, Banks Outperform -- Canadian Commentary

(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks fell Thursday, as plunging gold stocks offset stronger financials.

Gold stocks plummeted 7 percent as the precious metal lost its safe have value when U.S. equities rallied post-election.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 15 points at 14,744.18.

WTI light sweet crude oil fell 61 cents, or 1.4%, to settle at $44.66 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

That's after a report showed OPEC's oil production rose to record highs in October.

The International Energy Agency said OPEC crude output rose by a 230,000 barrels a day to a record high of 33.83 million barrels a day in October.

The IEA said OPEC faces a significant challenge in curbing production to meet levels discussed at a recent meeting in Algiers.

"We can't predict the outcome of the November 30 meeting, but we can see the scale of the task ahead," said the IEA.