Stocks in Toronto slid sharply today as investors dumped their equity holdings. The WorldCom bankruptcy and a report that Canadian consumer spending was weaker than expected in May, sent investors scurrying. At one point during the day, the mass exodus resulted in a TSX drop below Sept. 11 levels. The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index recovered slightly to close down 168.77 points at 6,366.67.


Overall the TSX’s momentum was negative as 870 issues declined and 260 advanced. All 10 of the index’s subgroups closed lower led by a 1.8% slide among financial stocks and a drop of almost 2% among I.T. stocks. Nortel Networks Corp. fell 21¢, or 10.5%, to $1.79. Sierra Wireless slid 14¢ to $5.16 a share.

Surprisingly, the usual safe haven – gold stocks – did not benefit from today’s trading. The gold index closed down 5% after the U.S. dollar gained some ground, making gold less attractive. Barrick Gold Corp. fell $1.44, or 5.4%, to $25.21 a share. Placer Dome Inc. slid $1.02, or 6%, to $15.58 a share. Alcan Inc. was another big loser today, falling $3.91, or 8%, to $43.89.


The S&P/TSX 60 index fell 9.77 points to 355.08. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index closed down 14.76 at 1088.49. Trading was active on a volume of 28.0 million shares worth 9.7 million dollars, with 112 advances, 221 declines and 544 issues unchanged.

South of the 49th parallel, investors plagued by concerns emanating from the Enron and WorldCom debacles drove the markets down to multi-year lows. The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 234.68 points at 7,784.58. The NASDAQ composite index lost 36.50 points falling to 1,282.65.