(RTTNews) - Toronto stocks closed slightly lower on Monday, pushed lower by energy stocks. The S&P/TSX closed down 41.50 points or 0.43% at 9.721.26.

Energy stocks fell again on Monday as crude oil continued to drop. The Energy Index fell 3.66%, led by a 10.9% drop for Interoil (IOL.TO). Suncor (SU.TO) dropped 6.15% and Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ.TO) fell 5.44%.

EnCana Corp. (ECA.TO) fell 3.4% as workers closed a leak believed to have been caused by an attack on its sour gas infrastructure in British Columbia.

Gold stocks dropped 1.5% on Bay Street. Barrick Gold (ABX.TO) led the decliners with a 4.5% drop.

The precious metal turned modestly higher on Monday as traders took advantage of the deflated prices as a result of the worst month in more than two decades. Gold for December delivery closed at $726.80 an ounce, up $8.60 for the session.

Mining stocks led the gainers, rising 3.85%, while the Information Technologies Index added 2.39%.

The heavily-weighted Financial Index closed up 1.2%. Kingsway Financial (KFS.TO) climbed 15.1% while Sun Life (SLF.TO) added 4.06%. Among the bix six, the National Bank of Canada (NA.TO) climbed 1.64%.

The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) fell 2.9% after the stock was cut to Neutral from Buy at Merrill Lynch & Co.

In other corporate news, E-L Financial Corporation Limited (ELF.TO) gained 2.56% as the company reported third-quarter operating of $49.6 million or $14.16 per share compared with $15.7 million or $3.97 per share for the comparable period last year.

lululemon athletica (LLL.TO) has plunged 14.12% after BMO Nesbitt Burns downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market Perform and cut its 12-month price target to $10 from $26.

Industry data released on Monday showed that Canadian auto sales were up 1.5% to 122,711 in October.

Toyota Canada reported an increased of 9.4% in the month, while Chrysler’s Canadian sales climbed 1.5%. General Motors saw a 6.1% decline in October.

Things weren’t as positive across the border as U.S. automakers reported sharp declines in autosales again in October. General Motors announced a 45% drop in sales, while Ford fell 30% and Toyota 25%.

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