TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was down about 300 points just before the close Monday as worries about the economy sent commodity stocks tumbling.
New York indexes were also lower ahead of earnings from aluminum giant Alcoa after the close.
Just before the close, Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 317.1 points or 3.45 per cent to 8,768.1, putting the main index in negative territory for the year.
The market lost ground as a Bank of Canada quarterly survey found business leaders expect sales growth to slow and that they will cut jobs. The firms also reported tightening credit conditions over the past three months.
A stronger U.S. dollar and sharply lower oil prices helped send the loonie down 1.75 cents to 82.23 cents US.
New York's Dow Jones industrials fell 163.8 points to 8,435.4. The Nasdaq composite index was down 39.11 points to 1,532.48, while the price of oil in New York fell US$3.24 to $37.59 a barrel.
