Canada’s main stock index had its worst day of the year on heightened concerns about an economic slowdown in a disconnect from the Bank of Canada’s more optimistic outlook.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 165.99 points to 16,131.47.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 221.36 points at 25,126.41. The S&P 500 index was down 19.37 points at 2,783.02, while the Nasdaq composite was down 60.04 points at 7,547.31.
The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US74.00¢ compared with an average of US74.20¢ on Tuesday after the Bank of Canada kept its key interest rate on hold at 1.75%. The central bank pointed to “accumulating evidence” of improvements in the economy, but noted that trade risks remain.
The July crude contract was down 33¢ at US$58.81 per barrel and the July natural gas contract was up 4¢ at US$2.62 per mmBTU.
The August gold contract was up US$3.80 at US$1,286.30 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 3.2 cents at US$2.66 a pound.