TORONTO - The Toronto stock market posted a triple-digit loss, losing more than one per cent of its value after a ratings agency downgraded Greece's debt to junk status.
The move sent North American markets into a steep decline, with the S&P/TSX composite index down 134.23 points or 1.1 per cent at 12,146.74.
The Canadian dollar also plunged, losing 1.59 cents to 98.27 cents US as investors moved into the traditional safe haven of the U.S. greenback. Earlier, the loonie fell as low as 98.21 cents US.
Ratings agency Standard & Poor's deprived Greece of an investment-grade rating on its bonds, meaning it would have to pay higher costs to borrow if it taps debt markets again. It also lowered Portugal's debt rating.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 213.04 points or 1.9 per cent to 10,991.99, while the Nasdaq fell 51.48 points or two per cent to 2,471.47.
Oil lost $1.76 to US$82.44 a barrel, while gold added $8.20 to US$1,162.20 an ounce.
