Anxiety over a possible rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed on investors Wednesday, driving down indexes throughout North America, while faltering by energy sector also factored in.
The S&P/TSX Composite swooned 248.04 points, or 1.7%, to conclude Tuesday at 14,349.10
The Canadian dollar darted 0.73 cents lower to 75.96 cents U.S.
Gold issues took the hardest blows, as Iamgold headed south 35 cents, or 6.1%, to $5.40, and Kinross Gold settled 25 cents, or 4.5%, to $5.31.
Energy took hits from such stocks as Baytex Energy, sliding 44 cents, or 7.6%, to $5.34, while EnCana Corp. stumbled 75 cents, or 5.6%, to $12.64.
Industrials also struggled, with Bombardier trailing eight cents, or 4.1%, to $1.89.
Among telecoms, BCE fell $1.37, or 2.2%, to $59.92.
Health-care stocks also got whacked, as Valeant Pharmaceuticals skidded $1.05, or 2.8%, to $36.29.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dumped 16.73 points, or 2.1%, to 797.17
All 12 TSX subgroups remained negative on the day, with energy failing 3.2%, gold tumbling 2.59%, and materials sliding 2.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Tuesday, led by energy, as investors digested a spike in volatility and falling oil prices, while looking ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrials erased yesterday’s 230-plus-point hike and then some, giving back 258.32 points, or 1.4%, to 18,066.75, with Chevron leading decliners and Apple the only advancer.
The S&P 500 moved downward 32.02 points, or 1.5%, to 2,127.02, with energy leading all sectors lower.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 56.63 points, or 1.1%, to 5,155.25, despite strong gains in Apple.
Consumer discretionary, financials and health-care turned negative year to date.
In corporate news, short-seller Jim Chanos called the proposed merger between SolarCity and Tesla Motors "crazy" and "the height of folly" at the Delivering Alpha conference.
Meanwhile, investors of all stripes have been closely scrutinizing every piece of economic data and parsing through every speech made by Fed officials, trying to find clues about what the central bank's decision on monetary policy will be.
The Fed is scheduled to meet next Tuesday through Wednesday. Market expectations for a Fed rate hike next week were 15% Tuesday morning,
Prices for the 10-year Treasury were lower, raising yields to 1.72% from Monday’s 1.67%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices regressed $1.40 at $44.89 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices progressed $4.20 at $1,321.40 U.S. an ounce.
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