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North American stock markets closed down after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump cast doubt on a quick resolution to the U.S.-China trade war.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 89.29 points at 16,892.18.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 280.23 points at 27,502.81. The S&P 500 index was down 20.67 points at 3,093.20, while the Nasdaq composite was down 47.34 points at 8,520.64.

The Canadian dollar traded for US75.18¢, down from an average of US75.20¢ on Monday.

The January crude contract closed up US14¢ at US$56.10 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was up US11¢ at US$2.44 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract ended up US$15.20 at US$1,484.40 an ounce and the March copper contract was down US2.8¢ at US$2.62 a pound.