TSX falls by record 840.93 points; oil drops to $95 US
The Toronto stock market hit a record 840.93-point downdraft Monday as a financial bailout bill was voted down in the U.S. House of Representatives and the price of oil dropped below $100 US a barrel.
After the bailout bill was rejected by a vote of 228-205 Monday afternoon, the S&P/TSX composite index dipped as low as 954.68 points, or 7.9 per cent, to 11,171.32.
The loss narrowed in the last hour of trading, however. The index closed at 11,285.07, down 840.93 points, or 6.9 per cent.
It was record point drop for the Toronto index, squeaking past the 840.26-point loss of Oct. 25, 2000, during the tech-stock meltdown.
But it was far from the biggest percentage drop. The market dropped 11.32 per cent on Oct. 19, 1987, the Black Monday of that year's market crash.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial average closed at its low for the day, 10,365.45, for a loss of 777.68 points, or 6.98 per cent.
Toronto share prices were down across the board, with mining and energy stocks leading the way, perhaps partly because of fear that a U.S. financial crisis will crimp the world economy and reduce demand for oil.
The price of oil, which peaked at $147.27 US in July, fell sharply in New York trading.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery sold for as little as $95.04, down $11.85, and was still below $96 in late afternoon trading.
RIM continues slide
On the TSX, Research In Motion continued to slide after losing $28.43 on Friday. Its low point Monday was $62.50, down $10.07, or 13.9 per cent, but it edged upward in afternoon trading to close at $65.97, down $6.60, or nine per cent.
The Waterloo, Ont., company reported a big jump in profit and revenue late Thursday, but did not meet analysts' expectations.
Overseas, London's FTSE 100 was down 3.2 per cent at 4,924.66 while Germany's DAX dropped 2.9 per cent to 5,884.17 and France's CAC 40 fell 2.9 per cent to 4,039.07.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index was down 1.3 per cent at 11,743.61 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.1 per cent to 18,286.90.
With files from the Associated Press