North American markets suffered triple-digit losses Thursday as resource stocks tumbled on Bay Street, and Wall Street was spooked by a second-quarter profit warning from Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 114.71 points or 1.21% at 9331.71, while the TSX Venture Exchange fell 30.48 points or 1.83% to 1637.79.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 110.77 points of 1.08% to 10189.48. The Nasdaq composite was 7.67 points or 0.39% lower at 1963.88, while the S&P 500 index lost 11.75 points or 1.00% to 1159.36.

The Canadian dollar continued to suffer from political uncertainty, losing a further 0.26 of a cent to US79.88¢, on top of Wednesday’s decline of almost seven-10ths of a U.S. cent

In Toronto, stocks were hit by the double-whammy of falling oil and gold prices. Oil prices dropped for a second straight session, with a barrel of light crude was quoted at $48.54, down $1.91, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Meanwhile, the June contract for bullion on the Nymex lost $5.70 to US$422.20 an ounce.

The TSX energy subgroup was down 2.57%, while gold shares fell 3.61% as a group and the metals and minerals sub-groups lost 4.8% and 3.6%, respectively. Only technology and telecommunications groups were in the black.

Among the bigger mining-sector losers were Noranda Inc., which fell $1.91 or 8.45% to $20.69; Inco Ltd., down $2.58 or 5.55% to $43.90; and Placer Dome Inc., off 80¢ or 4.85% to $15.68. In the energy group, EnCana Corp. lost $1.48 or 3.47% to $41.17 and Suncor slid $1.35 or 2.81% to $46.75.

On Wall Street, investors’ fears of an economic slowdown were heightened after Wal-Mart missed Wall Street’s profit expectations for the quarter and, more important, said high gasoline prices have hurt customer spending and could affect the company’s second-quarter results.

That put a damper on a very positive Commerce Department report, which showed a 1.4% increase in retail sales, the best gain in six months. Analysts had been expecting a rise of 0.8%.

While profits at Wal-Mart rose 14% from the first quarter last year, the company’s warning on its second-quarter earnings unnerved investors who have grown accustomed to strong gains at the nation’s largest retailer. Wal-Mart tumbled 95¢ or 1.95% to US$47.65 after missing analysts’ expectations by a penny per share.

Target Corp. climbed 83¢ to US$49.03 after the retailer posted robust sales for the quarter and saw earnings rise 15%. The company beat Wall Street’s profit forecasts by 2¢ per share.

Embattled Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley dropped 22¢ to US$49.63 after a group of dissident shareholders publicized their plan to spin off the company’s investment banking business from the rest of the firm, essentially reversing its 1997 merger with Dean Witter & Co. The dissidents claim their plan was developed with the help of institutional shareholders.