S&P/TSX down more than 500 points as trading resumes after outage Thursday

TORONTO – Canada's main stock index plunged at the open as trading resumed on the Toronto Stock Exchange after it was halted early Thursday afternoon due to a technical issue.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 529.83 points at 16,187.61.

Trading on Thursday was suspended early after what TMX Group, which operates the exchange, said was a system capacity issue within the messaging technology component of its trading engine.

The trouble on the exchange came amid heaving trading as investors have been selling off stocks amid fears that the novel coronavirus outbreak that began in China will hurt the global economy.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 438.20 points at 25,328.44. The S&P 500 index was down 55.12 points at 2,923.64, while the Nasdaq composite was down 152.79 points at 8,413.69.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.32 cents US compared with an average of 74.84 cents US on Thursday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)