Stock markets may have closed lower Tuesday in Canada and the U.S., but the major American indices enjoyed stellar performances in November.

The S&P/TSX fell 26.36 points , or 0.29% to 9,030.05, on volume of 283 million shares.

Energy and information technology issues were the only stocks to finish in the black. Energy stocks rose 0.15%. Info tech rose 0.32%.

The materials group fell 1.26%, while gold stocks dropped 2.91%.

The heavyweight financial services group closed down 0.28% on weakness in insurance and mutual fund companies, but Canada’s big banks all closed higher.

Royal Bank of rose 40ยข, or 0.65%, to $62.40. The bank reported a 31% drop in fourth-quarter profit on as it booked charges for its struggling U.S. mortgage unit and for a business realignment that will cut 1,660 jobs.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index slid 11.17 points, or 0.63% to 1,754.39. Volume was 98 million shares.

On Wall Street, stocks also dropped, after a report that the holiday shopping season got off to a sluggish start.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 47.88 points, or 0.46%, to 10,428.02. The S&P 500 index dropped 4.75 points, or 0.40%, to 1,173.82. The Nasdaq composite index slid back 10.06 points, or 0.48%, to 2,096.81.

Despite poor performances today, both the Dow and S&P 500 turned in their best monthly performance so far this year in November.

The Dow gained 4% and the S&P 500 added 3.9%. The Nasdaq rose 6.2%, its largest gain since October of 2003.