Major North American stock indexes recorded losses today as the price of oil slipped.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell by 74.32 points to 17,040.20.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 112.59 points to 28,051.41, the S&P 500 index fell by 12.65 points to 3,140.98 and the Nasdaq composite shed 39.70 points to 8,665.47 after a half-day of trading.

The Canadian dollar traded for US75.25¢ compared with an average of US75.27¢ on Thursday.

The January crude contract shed US$2.94 to US$55.17 per barrel and the January natural gas contract retreated by US22¢ to US$2.28 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract advanced US$11.90 to US$1,472.70 an ounce and the March copper contract fell about US3.5¢ to US$2.66 a pound.