Stocks sell off in Toronto, New York as crude prices tumble

A sharp drop Tuesday in the price of oil after a forecast for weaker global demand weighed heavily on benchmark North American stock indices, with losses of about 250 points.

The October futures contract for light sweet crude fell $1.39 to close at at $44.90 US per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. 

Crude oil prices fell after the International Energy Agency cut its forecast for global demand growth for this year. 

With oil down sharply, the S&P/TSX Composite Index shed 248.04 points to slide to 14,349.10.

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All of the TSX's 12 subgroups closed lower, led by energy at 188.48 points, down 6.49 points, or 3.33 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 258 points, or 1.4 per cent, to 18,066, with Apple the only Dow component to finish higher.

The Standard-and-Poor's 500 index declined 32 points, or 1.5 per cent, to 2,127. The Nasdaq composite dropped 56 points, or 1.1 per cent, to 5,155.

With the price of oil lower, the Canadian dollar, which is closely linked to the movements of crude, lost 0.70 of a cent to reach 75.93 cents US.