The Toronto stock market lost more than 200 points Wednesday on concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 248.2 to 10,805.3. It has lost ground in each of the last four trading sessions. All sub-indices fell, with the energy group down almost three per cent as the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange finished down $2.09 at $77.49 a barrel.
The drop came despite a report from the American Petroleum Institute that crude oil supplies fell by 3.5 million barrels for the week ending Oct. 23.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.48 to settle at 9,762.69.
Traders were discouraged by data out of the U.S. showing an unexpected drop in the sales of new homes last month, down 3.6 per cent to 402,000. The average sale price of $204,800 US was 9.1 per cent lower than a year earlier but 2.5 per cent higher than in August.
Orders for U.S. durable goods such as appliances rose one per cent last month, the U.S. Commerce Department reported, but orders from August were revised down to reflect a drop of 2.6 per cent.
The Canadian dollar ended down 1.08 cents at 92.72 cents US.
Gold finished at $1,029.90 an ounce, down $4.80 US.
