Stock markets resume selloff

TORONTO—The Toronto stock market sustained massive losses today, pushing the main index to its lowest level in nearly four years as data showing worsening U.S. economic conditions depressed commodity stocks and financials sold off on worries about the credit crisis.
New York markets also were unable to stabilize, falling sharply on top of yesterday’s steep sell-off, which also was prompted by deepening economic pessimism.

Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite dropped 520.93 points, or 5.5 percent, to 8,802.92 at one point this morning, following an energy-sector rout that sent the main index down 632 points yesterday.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 329.58 points, or 3.84 percent, to 8,248.33 this morning after tumbling 733 points yesterday in its worst one-day plunge since 1987.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said yesterday that regional manufacturing conditions weakened in October. The bank’s regional index came in at a negative 37.5 compared with a positive 3.8 for September.
“There is some good news and a lot of bad news, and I think if there is any type of bad news in anything that comes out, that’s really what people are focusing on—which is indicative of a bear market really,” said Jennifer Radman, associate portfolio manager at Caldwell Securities.
“You still have a lot of de-leveraging going on, which means there are people out there that just have to sell regardless of what the value of their stock is worth.”
The latest dive in the price of oil helped send the Canadian dollar down 0.62 of a cent this morning to 84.22 cents (U.S.) while the latest snapshot on manufacturing showed a sharp deterioration in sales.
Statistics Canada reported manufacturing sales declined 3.7 percent to $52 billion in August. The slide was led by the petroleum and coal sectors, but declines were widespread as the transportation equipment industry fell 4.3 per cent.