Greek debt fears boost U.S. dollar

A higher U.S. dollar pulled oil prices and the Toronto Stock Exchange lower for a second day Wednesday, while gold rebounded.

Investors worried about the possibility of the Greek debt crisis spreading to other European countries and took profits after a run-up in stocks after better-than-expected corporate earnings. Traders bought the U.S. dollar, and that dragged the dollar-priced commodities lower.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 155.73 points at 11875.13.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 59.94 points to close at 10866.83. The Nasdaq composite index ended 21.96 points lower at 2402.29 while the S&P 500 index moved down 7.73 points to 1,165.87.

June oil ended the session down $2.77 at $79.97 US a barrel after a report from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude supplies rose more than expected last week.

The Canadian dollar's official close was down 0.45 cents to 97.11 cents US. That followed a 1.39-cent slide on Tuesday.

The euro hit a 14-month low, falling to $1.2791 US.

June gold on the New York Mercantile Exchange finished up by $6.00 to $1,174.60 US an ounce.

"Yesterday, there were rumours that Spain would soon request an aid package, subsequently denied, and today, fear remains high," Scotia Capital said in a commentary.

"Mass protests and strike action in Greece [are] doing sentiment in global markets no favour," said Tim Hughes, head of sales trading at IG Index in London.