North American markets endured sizeable losses Wednesday after some big corporate names issued weak outlooks. The S&P/TSX composite Index fell 79.67 points to close at 6,723.11.

The TSX gold index was the only sector to post a solid gain, rising 2.82% as the price of gold bullion soared another US$6.60 to US$354.30.

Goldcorp rose 83¢ to $20.33; Placer Dome climbed 70¢ to $18.38; Barrick Gold gained 52¢ to $24.47.

The influential financial services index fell 1.75%. Royal Bank dropped $1.59 to $57.82; Bank of Montreal fell $1.13 to $41.67.

Volume leader Nortel fell 12¢ to $3.14.

Magna International shares fell $4.76 to $88.41 after issuing a glum earnings forecast.

On the Toronto market, declines outnumbered advances 580 to 540 with 190 issues unchanged. Volume was 264 million shares worth $3.34 billion.

The TSX Venture Exchange gained 9.03 points to 1,104.40.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 145.28 points to 8,595.31. Alcoa, a Dow component, posted a bigger-than-expected loss and cut 8,000 jobs amid a weak aluminum market.

The Nasdaq composite index shed 30.50 points to 1,401.07, while the S&P 500 declined 12.99 points to 909.94.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.04¢ to close at US64.04¢.