Another day, another decline on the markets, as job creation numbers in Canada in the U.S. did nothing to ally investors' fears that the economy is on the brink of another recession.
At midday in Toronto the benchmark S&P/TSX composite index was down by about 315 points, or 2.55 per cent, to 12,065, in another broad-based decline involving all 10 of its sub-indexes.
The price of oil was down another $1.13 U.S. to $85.50 U.S. a barrel. Gold, which fell the previous day due to profit-taking, was back in familiar safe-haven territory, rising $3.50 U.S. to $1,662.50 U.S. an ounce.
The Canadian dollar slipped 50 basis points to $1.0159 U.S. in late-morning trading.
The Canadian unemployment rate slipped to 7.2 per cent from 7.4, in July, Statistics Canada reported on Friday, though the economy added only about half the jobs that analysts had expected. In the U.S., non-farm payrolls rose more than had been expected, with most sectors showing gains, but a dip in the unemployment rate to 9.1 per cent was attributed to people leaving the labour force.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 132 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 11,252 at midday, and the Nasdaq composite fell 61 points, or 2.38 per cent, to 2,496.
In Asia, the Nikkei in Tokyo fell 3.72 per cent and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 4.29 per cent. In Europe, London's FTSE lost 2.53 per cent, the CAC in Paris fell 1.15 per cent, and Frankfurt's DAX declined 2.72 per cent.
