TORONTO -- Canada's main stock index was headed toward its worst day in more than three months on COVID-19 lockdown fears until a late partial recovery.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 217.20 points at 15,981.77 after being on a path to twice that loss earlier in the day.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 509.72 points at 27,147.70. The S&P 500 index was down 38.41 points at 3,281.06, while the Nasdaq composite was down 14.48 points at 10,778.80.

The Canadian dollar was down more than half a cent, trading for 75.23 cents US compared with 75.84 cents US on Friday.

The November crude contract was down US$1.78 at US$39.54 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down 21.3 cents at US$1.83 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was down US$51.50 at US$1,910.60 an ounce and the December copper contract was down 8.4 cents at US$3.03 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2020