Stocks in Toronto took a sharp nosedive on Thursday as double-digit percentage drops for financial firms and energy companies pulled the benchmark index down 9%.

The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 765.80 points to close at 7,724.76, its lowest level since November 2003.

Energy companies took the biggest hit, falling 14.5% after oil futures closed at their lowest level in three and a half years. Crude for December delivery dropped US$4 to end at US$49.62 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest closing level since May 2005.

Suncor Energy Inc. shares plunged 15.2% to $18.83 and Talisman Energy Inc. shares were down 16% to $8.58.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. dropped $9.71, or 21.5% to $35.43.

EnCana Corp. shares fell 14.35% to $43.86.

The financials group tumbled 12.2% as shares of the big banks plunged sharply lower.

Manulife Financial Corp. dropped 14.8% to $17.86, and Royal Bank of Canada fell 13.45% to $35.65.

TD Bank shares tumbled 12.7% to close at $43.57 after the bank reported fourth-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations thanks to $350 million in trading losses.

CIBC shares fell 12.45% to $42.28, Bank of Nova Scotia slid 13.3% to $30.54 and Bank of Montreal was down 12.3% to $33.34.

Gold for December delivery rose US$12.70, or 1.7%, to end at US$748.70 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The sub-gold index gained 2.6%.

Materials companies slipped 3.6%, including a 16% plunge for shares of Agrium Inc., which closed at $30.30. Potash Corp. was also lower, down 11.6% to $71.59.

B-class shares of Teck Cominco Ltd. plummeted more than 21% to $4.10 after it announced it would suspend dividends on its common shares and slash capital spending to reduce its debt load.

Kinross Gold Corp. shares got a boost of 0.2% to $13.97 after it announced it would pay US$250 million to buy the Lobo-Marte gold project in Chile from Teck Cominco and Anglo American PLC.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. was another bright spot in the materials group, rising 4.3% to $34.49 after announcing Wednesday a new private placement of US$252 million to fund expansion and bolster its balance sheet.

The Canadian dollar continued to slide against the greenback, losing two and a half cents to close at US77.31¢.

The day wasn’t much brighter for junior companies on the TSX. The S&P/TSX Venture index fell 38.14 points, or 5.2%, to 691.95.

In New York, news of a jump in weekly U.S. unemployment claims to a 16-year high set the tone for another difficult day on the markets. Some of the main indexes closed at their lowest levels in years.

The Dow Jones industrial average shed 444.99 points, or 5.6% to 7,552.29 — its lowest closing point in five and a half years.

The S&P 500 index fell 54.14 points, or 6.7%, to 752.44 — an 11-year low. The Nasdaq composite lost 70.3 points, or 5.1%, to end at 1,316.12.

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