Canadian stock markets ended lower for the ninth week in the past 10, as gold marked its biggest weekly drop in 25 years. Commodity prices softened in the face of a hard-charging U.S. dollar, dragging mining stocks to their lowest levels since January.

On Wall Street, markets finished with modest gains as cheaper gasoline helped boost consumer confidence.

The S&P/TSX Composite index sank 262.21 points, or two per cent, to 13,096.70, to end the week down 1.8 per cent.

The S&P/TSX Venture exchange lost 53.85, or 2.7 per cent, to 1,937.33, dropping 7.4 per cent this week to a new three-year low.

Gold plunged 8.4 per cent this week, with the December contract sinking Friday by $22.40, or 2.8 per cent, to $792.10 US an ounce.

Bullion has fallen 20 per cent in the past month, at the same time as the U.S. dollar has rallied from its lowest-ever level against the euro.

Silver fell $1.43, or 10 per cent, to $12.93 US an ounce, its biggest one-day drop in two years.

Earlier in the session, silver was down as much as 14 per cent to $12.305 US.

Shares of Vancouver-based Goldcorp fell $1.77, or five per cent, to $31.16.

Barrick, the world's biggest gold producer, and Kinross also sank five per cent, with Barrick falling $1.71 to $33.94 and Kinross sliding 80 cents to $15.79.

Pan American Silver and Silver Wheaton each fell five per cent, with Pan American shedding $1.52 to $25.91 and Silver Wheaton losing 59 cents to $10.74.

The price of oil continued to slide, falling $1.24, or 1.1 per cent, to $113.77 US a barrel, ending down 1.2 per cent from a week earlier, and down 23 per cent from its all-time high of $147.27 US a barrel set July 11.

Oilexco retreated 95 cents, or seven per cent, to $13.20.

Suncor dipped $2.66, or five per cent, to $53.34.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.38 cents to 94.43 cents US, to end the week 0.8 per cent higher against its U.S. counterpart.

Factory shipments in Canada climbed for the fifth month in the past six in June, rising by 2.1 per cent, more than analysts expected.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 43.97 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 11,659.90 to finish the week up 0.6 per cent.

The S&P 500 gained 5.26, or 0.4 per cent, to 1,298.20, inching ahead 0.1 per cent.

The Nasdaq composite slipped 1.15 to 2,452.52, trimming the healthiest weekly gain of the three major U.S. indices to 1.6 per cent.

Two U.S. companies that guarantee repayment of government and corporate bonds saw share prices soar after Standard & Poors reaffirmed credit ratings it lowered in June.

MBIA and Ambac guaranteed $1.1 trillion US in debt securities in June, when S&P cut their triple-A credit rating.

Shares of MBIA rose 90 cents, or nine per cent, to $11.22 US, while Ambac jumped $1.12, or 25 per cent, to $5.68 US.

MBIA is still down 79 per cent from a year ago, while Ambac has lost 90 per cent of its value, in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown that shook the U.S. financial sector.

Financial stocks in the S&P 500 have rallied 23 per cent since their most recent sell-off July 15, but the sector is still down 34 per cent from a year ago.

Russia's invasion of neighbouring Georgia pushed two U.S. defence stocks higher.

Lockheed Martin shot up by $3.49 to $116.67 after Washington vowed to supply Poland with 10 Patriot missiles. Lockheed's partner in the Patriot program, Raytheon, rose $1.40 to $61.71 US.

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Gregory Thomas is an investment adviser and Certified Financial Planner with the Cassady Group at Canaccord Capital Corp., member CIPF. Listen to his market commentary on all-news radio, News1130. Views expressed are the author's alone, and not necessarily those of his employer.

www.gregorythomas.ca; Tel: 604-601-5886; gregory_thomas@canaccord.com