North American stock markets fall sharply, loonie down

Its stock rose 52 cents or 5.73 per cent to US$9.59. The last time the index closed below 12,000 was in October 2013.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX index was down 190.0 points at 13,188.57 at mid-morning, offsetting a 39.90-point gain on Friday.

The November contract for benchmark crude oil was down $1.27 at US$44.43 a barrel while December copper gave back three cents to US$2.25 a pound.

The gloom in commodities was largely tied to more news out of China about that country’s slowing economy.

“Whenever the market is down, the first place to look these days is China”, John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Fund Management, told The Associated Press.

In corporate news today, China has fined Canada’s Bombardier (BBD.B.TO) and a unit of local trainmaker CRRC Corp a small amount each for setting up a joint venture without permission. (NYSE:AA) bucked the downward trend after announcing that it will split into two independent companies. The massive decline was led by the healthcare sector, which lost more than 10 per cent, and metals and mining, which slipped more than nine per cent.

The financial sector was also lower, as were health-care stocks.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.32 of a cent, falling to 74.78 cents US.

The Toronto Stock Exchange lost 2.8 per cent of its value Monday, in a rout that saw the S&P TSX Composite index drop 373 points. Valeant has fallen from being Canada’s biggest company to its third-largest by market capitalization in the process.