North American markets took a sudden turn for the worse Tuesday, as tumbling metals and tech stocks hit Bay Street and higher oil prices and disappointing consumer data took its toll on Wall Street.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 86.96 points, or 0.92%, at 9,395.42. It was the seventh-straight loss for the TSX

In Toronto, base metals stocks were hit especially hard on concern that a faster pace of interest rate increases in the U.S. may curb demand for nickel, copper and other base metals.

The TSX metals and mining sub-group was off 4.02%. while the material group fell 2.32%. Among the hardest hit were Inco Ltd. and Alcan Inc.

Inco, the world’s second-biggest nickel producer, lost $1.06, or 2.71%, to $37.99. The company agreed to help fund a $1.1 billion nickel-mining project for Kalgoorlie, Australia-based Heron Resources Ltd.

Alcan, the world’s second-largest aluminum maker, was off $1.11, or 2.50%, to $43.35.

Nine of the 10 of the TSX main groups closed in the red. Only the utilities group rose, climbing 0.57%.

Tech shares were down 1.58% as Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the Blackberry e-mail pager, slipped $2.03 to $88.80.

Shares in computer graphics chip maker ATI Technologies Inc. gave up 27¢ to $19.95 after the company was reprimanded by the Ontario Securities Commission and ordered to pay $900,000 Tuesday in a case centering on disclosure of a sales and profit slowdown.

The TSX energy sector turned fell 0.84%.

Even though the price of crude oil climbed 18¢ to US$54.23 for a barrel of light, sweet crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The SP&/TSX Venture composite index tumbled 46.46 points, or 2.45%, to 1,855.81.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.72 of cent to US82.75¢ as the week-long rally in the U.S. dollar paused.

U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as crude oil prices rebounded and a 4.7% decline in heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc. hit the Dow.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended at its lowest level in about 2 months.

The Dow was down 79.95 points, or 0.76%, at 10,405.70 and the S&P 500 fell 8.92 points, or 0.76%, at 1,165.36. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was down 18.64 points, or 0.94%, at 1,973.88.

There was little positive news for investors to grab onto in this morning’s consumer confidence report from the Conference Board.

The report’s headline index fell for the second straight month, indicating a deterioration in consumer confidence.