Stocks Drop Sharply in Canada, U.S.

Stocks in both Canada and the United States dropped sharply today as commodity prices fell and reports of soft earnings spread.

Stock prices in the United States and Canada dropped today as soft earnings reports and falling commodity prices impacted the markets. The S&P/TSX composite index, in Toronto, fell 321 points, or more than three per cent, at 9366.98 at 11:19 a.m. ET. The gold sub-index lost 6.8 per cent, as the price for gold was down $19 US an ounce on world markets at $726 US. Retreating oil prices affected the S&P/TSX index, and oil was off $3.65 at $58.75 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, pulling down the energy sub-index by 4.7 per cent. Uranium producer Cameco Corp. was off $1.28 at $18.46 after the company said it was looking at cutting costs amid slipping operating profits. Home improvement chain Rona dropped nearly five per cent at $10.61 after posting lower quarterly profits and a drop in same-store sales. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 251 points at 8,617, while Nasdaq slipped 45 points to 1,570. The broader S&P 500 was off 27 points at 891. Toll Brothers, a U.S. house builder, was down 2.3 per cent at $18.51 after the company gave up hope that it would turn a profit for 2009.