(Toronto) The Toronto Stock Exchange fell nearly 500 points early Friday afternoon as crude oil plunged more than 10% and US stock markets retreated with discovery fears a new variant of the COVID virus in South Africa.
Toronto’s S & P / TSX Composite Index returned 495.78 points to 21,117.40 points.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrials Average closed 905.04 points lower at 34,899.34 points, after a shortened session after the Thanksgiving holiday. The broader S&P 500 index lost 106.84 points to 4,594.62 points, while the NASDAQ Composite Index retreated 353.57 points to 15,491.66 points.
In the currency market, the Canadian dollar was trading at 78.33 cents US, down from its average rate of 79.03 cents US the previous day.
On the New York Commodities Exchange, the price of crude oil plunged from US $ 9.54 to US $ 68.85 per barrel, while that of natural gas rose 21 cents US to US $ 5.32 the million BTUs.
The price of gold gained US $ 1.50 to US $ 1,785.80 an ounce and that of copper lost 16 US cents to US $ 4.31 per pound.