Markets were off across the board Wednesday as interest rates jitters and oil prices continued to preoccupy investors.

At midday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 52.9 or 0.63% to 8359.12, while the TSX venture exchange was trading 17.11 points or 1.09% lower at 1554.14. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 36.13 or 0.35% at 10396.39; the Nasdaq composite index fell 18.72 or 0.9% at 2004.81; and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 6.75 or 0.59% at 1135.43.

Market watchers said investors were still digesting comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Tuesday, who said the central bank was prepared to do whatever was necessary to ensure sustainable economic growth in the face of rising inflation and energy prices. The unusually direct statement led some on Wall Street to believe the Fed would raise rates as high as half a percentage point at its June 29-30 meeting, higher than the 0.25% the market has been expecting.

“Equities kind of shrugged it off yesterday; today it seems like folks are saying, ‘Is inflation an issue? How far will the Fed have to go? How long will this tightening last?'” said one U.S. investment strategist. “Higher rates certainly will have an impact. That will be a juggling act for the stock market over the next six months.”

Investors felt more relaxed about crude oil as global prices continued to retreat from 21-year highs on commitments from oil producers to ramp up production — and growing oil inventories in the U.S.

The price of light, sweet crude for July delivery was down US78¢ to US$36.50 a barrel in New York after the U.S. Department of Energy reported crude-oil inventories in the U.S. rose 400,000 barrels to 302.1 million barrels last week – the highest level since August of 2002. Also, gasoline supplies were up 2.1 million barrels to 206.4 million barrels.

At the same time, investors are keeping an eye on a general strike in Nigeria that could threaten exports from the world’s seventh-biggest oil exporter.

Energy stocks were among the bigger loser Wednesday morning; the TSX sub-sector was down 0.98% collectively. Gold stocks led the way down, falling 2.54%, while financials were off 0.62%. Only four sectors were up, led by real estate, which was ahead by 0.46%.

TD Bank Financial Group was the most active financial services stock, losing 47¢ to $46.05; Manulife Financial, which announced an outsourcing deal with CGI, was off 15¢ to $52.85.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average finished 0.6% lower Wednesday. In afternoon trading in Europe, France’s CAC-40 was down 0.6%, Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.5% and Germany’s DAX index lost 0.55%.