Canada's main stock index down sharply; loonie and crude futures lower

TORONTO -- Canada's main stock index is down sharply this morning, along with the major U.S. market benchmarks.

The S&P/TSX composite index was at 16,102.51, down 142.08 points after 90 minutes of trading. That more than offsets a 77-point gain on Thursday.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 300.73 points at 25,661.78. The S&P 500 index was down 33.04 points at 2,821.84, while the Nasdaq composite was down 106.74 points at 7,732.22..

The Canadian dollar traded 74.51 cents US, down compared with an average of 74.82 cents US on Thursday..

The May crude contract was down $1.37 at US$58.61 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 5.5 cents at US$2.77 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up $3 at US$1,314.80 an ounce and the May copper contract was down 5.65 cents at US$2.85 a pound.