Toronto stocks tumbled Wednesday, closing lower for the sixth consecutive session, as inflation fears and volatile commodity prices spooked investors.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 188.81 points, or 1.6%, at 11,640.61.

The index has lost 3.3% this week and is down 5.5% in five sessions.

Overall, nine of the 10 TSX main groups closed lower.

The energy index fell 2.3%. Techs were the lone gainers, up 0.31%.

The financial sector fell 1.1% as higher than expected U.S. consumer prices data fanned fears about inflation and interest rates.

Royal Bank fell 63¢, or 1.3%, to $46.82, while TD Bank lost 68¢, or 1.1%, to $62.12.

Gold shares fell 3.2% as bullion futures fell 0.2% to US$691.80 an ounce after trading a massive range of US$686.10 to US$720.

Barrick Gold slipped $1.32, or 3.7%, to $34.49, while Goldcorp lost $1.12, or 3.1%, to $35.60.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index lost 126.94 points, or 4.24%, to 2,869.35.

The Canadian dollar slipped almost half a cent to US89.77.

On Wall Street, U.S. markets also fell on stronger-than-expected consumer inflation data.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 214.28 points, or 1.88%, to end at 11,205.61. The S&P 500 fell 21.76 points, or 1.68% to finish at 1,270.32. The Nasdaq composite index tumbled 33.33 points, or 1.50%, to close at 2,195.80.

The blue-chip Dow suffered its biggest slide since March 2003, and the Nasdaq had its longest losing streak in five years.

The Nasdaq is now down 0.4% for the year. The Dow is still up 4.6%, while the S&P 500 is up 1.8% this year.