Canada's main stock index dropped on Friday as the price of oil stayed below US$70 a barrel and losses in the base metal and battery metal stocks weighed on the Toronto market.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 162.67 points, or 0.83 per cent, at 19,418.23.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 219.28 points at 33,727.43. The S&P 500 Index was down 33.56 points at 4,348.33, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 138.09 points at 13,492.52.

The Canadian dollar traded for 75.76 cents U.S. compared with 75.99 cents U.S. on Thursday. 

The August crude oil contract was down 35 cents at US$69.16 per barrel and the August natural gas contract was up 14 cents at US$2.84 per mm/BTU.

The August gold contract was up US$5.90 at US$1,929.60 an ounce and the July copper contract was down nine cents at US$3.80 a pound.