North American markets end punishing week in red as oil and loonie sink

North American markets concluded a painful week by closing well in the red as crude oil prices sank and the loonie hit a 19-month low.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 206.33 points to end at 13,935.44.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed off 414.23 points at 22,445.37. The S&P 500 index was down two per cent, falling by 50.84 points at 2,416.58, while the Nasdaq composite was down three per cent or 195.41 points at 6,332.99.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of 73.71 cents US compared with an average of 74.10 cents on Thursday.

The February crude contract was down 29 cents at $45.59 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up 22.4 cents at $3.75 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down $9.80 at $1,258.10an ounce and the March copper contract was down 2.25 cents at $2.67 a pound.