Stocks finished mostly lower on North American stock markets Friday amid disappointing results from the U.S. financial sector.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index eked out a narrow gain of .25 of a point to close at 11,504.76.

Gold prices have retreated from their recent gains.

The Canadian dollar closed lower for a second day, down .35 of a cent at 96.32 cents US.

The price of gold went back and forth, but the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange ended the session up 90 cents to $1,050.70 US an ounce.

Oil reached yet a new one-year high. The November NYMEX crude oil contract gained 95 cents to close at $78.53 a barrel. Natural gas finished up 30 cents at $4.78 per million British Thermal Units.

In New York, markets lagged amid earnings reports from General Electric and Bank America.

GE's third-quarter profit fell 44 per cent from a year earlier to $2.4 billion. Earnings were hit by lower profits from its GE Capital division, which lends to businesses.

Bank of America lost more than $2 billion in the third quarter, after paying dividends on preferred shares. It also set aside $11 billion for loans it expects won't be repaid, $5 billion more than in the year-ago period.

The Dow Jones industrials dropped 67.03 points to 9,995.91. The S&P 500 index was down 8.88 points to 1,087.68.