North American stock markets lose momentum on variant concerns and Fed action

TORONTO -

North American stock markets lost their morning strength to start December on persistent worries about the latest COVID-19 variant and the likelihood for the Fed to speed up its stimulus tapering.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 195.39 points to a six-week low of 20,464.60.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 461.68 points at 34,022.04. The S&P 500 index was down 53.96 points at 4,513.04, while the Nasdaq composite was down 283.64 points at 15,254.05.

The Canadian dollar traded for 78.27 cents US compared with 78.17 cents US on Tuesday.

The January crude oil contract was down 61 cents at US$65.57 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down 30.9 cents at nearly US$4.26 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$7.80 at US$1,784.30 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 3.25 cents at almost US$4.25 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2021.