Toronto stocks finished lower Tuesday, registering a nearly 200-point loss, as investor pessimism continued to grip the market.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 184.83 points, or 1.38%, to 13,242.62.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with only the information technology group and the consumer staples index managing a positive finish.

The financials group fell 1.51%.

Manulife Financial Corp. lost 84¢, or 2.13%, to $38.64.

The energy group fell 1.02%

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 76¢, or 1%, to close at US$72.38 a barrel.

Petro-Canada fell 76¢, or 1.41%, to $52.99.

The materials index fell 1.80%, while the gold sub-group fell 1.66%.

Gold futures closed slightly lower, with gold for December delivery falling $1.20 to $679.70 an ounce.

Goldcorp Inc. lost 18¢, or 0.69%, to $25.89.

The junior S&P TSX Venture Exchange plummeted 101.28 points, or 3.51%, to 2,784.60.

The Canadian dollar was also caught in the sell off, falling 1.2¢ to US93.75¢ on suspicions the Bank of Canada might hold interest rates at its next rate announcement instead of raising them as some had believed.

In New York, continued worries over a tightening credit environment, led by the fallout in the sub-prime mortgage market, and negative earnings guidance from Wal-Mart had investors continuing the market’s recent bearish run.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 207.61 points, or 1.57%, to 13,028.92

The Nasdaq composite index fell 43.12 points, or 1.70%, to 2,499.12, while the S&P 500 fell 26.38 points, or 1.82%, to 1,426.54.