TORONTO - The Toronto stock market closed sharply lower for a second session amid growing worry that the Greek debt crisis will spread to other southern European countries such as Portugal and Spain.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 155.73 points at 11,875.13, on top of a 166-point slide Tuesday.
Energy stocks led TSX decliners as investors continued to flock to the perceived safe haven of the U.S. dollar, which in turn depressed commodity prices and other currencies.
The stronger greenback pushed the Canadian dollar down 0.44 of a cent to 97.12 cents US. Oil fell $2.77 to US$79.97 a barrel.
New York's Dow Jones industrial average lost 59.94 points to 10,866.83 amid investor worry that a stronger dollar would cut into profits for U.S. companies that heavily rely on foreign operations.
The Nasdaq composite index moved 21.96 points lower to 2,402.29, while the S&P 500 index declined 7.73 points to 1,165.87.
