North American markets plummeted Wednesday, as oil prices declined, inflation worries increased and investors scaled back their exposure to the markets after recent highs.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 212.57, or 1.94%, to 10,748.57.

Volume on the senior exchange was 305 million shares.

All 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, led by the energy sector, which dropped 5%.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery ended down $1.11 to settle at US$62.79 a barrel, its fourth-straight session of decline, caused by a lessening of demand.

EnCana Corp. fell $3.64, or 5.45%, to $63.21, Suncor Energy Corp. dropped $4.71, or $8.28, to $52.17.

The financial sector fell 0.54%.

Bank of Montreal shares gave back 30¢, or 0.52%, to $57.28, while CI Financial lost 6¢, or 0.28%, to $21.09.

The information technology sector fell 0.18%. Market volume stalwart 11¢, 2.74%, to $3.90.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange fell 46.54 points, or 2.14%, to 2,124.09.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 123.75 points, or 1.19%, to 10,317.36, the S&P 500 index fell 18.08, or 1.49%, to 1,196.39, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 36.34, or 1.7%, to 2,103.02.

In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management’s survey on the non-manufacturing sector moved to 53.3 in September, lower than the 59.6 reading that had been predicted.