TORONTO -- TORONTO -- Canada's main stock index suffered its worst performance of the year as investors were spooked by new uncertainty about the coronavirus.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 56.44 points at 17,565.34.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 170.36 points at 28,989.73. The S&P 500 index was down 30.07 points at 3,295.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 87.57 points at 9,314.91.

The Canadian dollar traded for 76.10 cents US compared with an average of 76.09 cents US on Thursday.

The March crude contract was down US$1.40 at US$54.19 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down 3.4 cents at US$1.87 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$6.50 at US$1,571.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 4.2 cents at US$2.68 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2020.