Stocks in Toronto took a single-day nosedive of more than 6% for the second time this week as raw material stocks plunged and U.S. economic concerns weighed on investors.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed at 10,900.54 on Thursday — its lowest point in eight years — after dropping 813.97 points, or 6.95%.

The drop was led by the materials group, which suffered a massive 17.2% drop as commodities prices plunged. The price slump provoked downgraded analyst recommendations for shares of Potash Corp. and Agrium Inc., which sent the fertilizer companies’ stocks down 26% and 23%, respectively. Potash shares closed at $101, while Agrium shares finished at $45.01.

Gold companies also took a hard hit, after gold futures for December delivery fell 4.8% to US$844.30 an ounce in New York. Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. dropped 16.39% to $33.25, and Goldcorp Inc. shares slipped 19.84% to $27.51. The sub-gold index plunged 16.16%.

Crude oil futures dropped US$4.56 to settle at US$93.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which made for a painful day among TSX energy companies.

The energy group was down 8.55%, with losses of 10% and higher for several of its components. Suncor Energy dropped 11.55% to close at $36, while units of Canadian Oil Sands Trust fell 10.1% to $33.63.

Heavyweight Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. dropped almost 9% to $65.11, while Encana Corp. fell 9.2% to $59.46.

Lower energy prices sent the Canadian dollar down a cent and a half, to close at US92.60¢.

The financials group didn’t escape the damage, falling 3.38%. This included a 4.4% dip for shares of Bank of Montreal, which closed at $43.66. Manulife Financial Corp. shares dropped 4.59% to $37.21.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index also slid more than 6%, ending the day down 94.69 points at 1,311.96.

In New York, news of rising jobless claims contributed to economic concerns that sent the Dow to its lowest level in three years. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 348.22 points, or 3.2%, to close at 10,482.85.

The Nasdaq shed 22.48 points, or 1.1%, to close at 1,976.72. The S&P 500 slipped 46.78 points, or 4%, ending the day at 1,114.28.