North American stock markets plunged in early trading amid worries that the arrest of a senior executive at Chinese telecom equipment maker Huawei could derail progress in China-U.S. trade talks.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 340.34 points at 14,842.30.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 393.88 points at 24,633.19. The S&P 500 index was down 40.18 points at 2,659.88, while the Nasdaq composite was down 100.07 points at 7,058.36.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.57 cents US compared with an average of 74.89 cents US on Wednesday.
The January crude oil contract was down US$1.44 at US$51.45 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down 15.7 cents at US$4.31 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was up US$5.10 at US$1,247.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 4.90 cents at US$2.73 a pound.