By the numbers: North American markets continue to spasm after global tumult

TORONTO – Strong gains in North American stock markets largely evaporated by day’s end Tuesday following a worldwide sell-off the previous day that spooked investors. Here are some key numbers:

TORONTO STOCKS: The TSX/S&P composite index saw a strong triple-digit rebound fade late in the day, with Canada’s main market finishing the session up 98.19 points at 13,150.93, a gain of 0.8 per cent. That compares to the 420-point drop or decline of 3.1 per cent the day before.

NEW YORK STOCKS: A similarly strong rally fizzled even worse, with the Dow Jones industrial average finishing with a loss of 204.91 points at 15,666.44 after having plunged 588 points on Monday. That represents a nearly five per cent drop over two days. The S&P 500 index and Nasdaq also sustained losses of between four and five per cent in that same time.

ASIAN MARKETS: China’s Shanghai market dropped another 7.6 per cent and Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost nearly four per cent before, adding to the previous day’s losses of 8.5 per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively.

EUROPEAN MARKETS: Germany’s DAX rose 4.8 per cent, the CAC-40 in France rose 4.18 per cent and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 2.87 per cent. All three markets ended Monday heavily in the red.

CANADIAN DOLLAR: The loonie wavered between gains and losses before finishing down 0.47 of a cent at 74.93 cents U.S. It was the first time it has closed below 75 cents since mid-2004.

OIL: The October crude contract was up $1.07 cents at US$39.31 a barrel.

OTHER COMMODITIES: The October natural gas contract rose four cents to US$2.69, while the December gold contract was down $15.30 at US$1,138.30 an ounce.