The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange fell sharply of the third straight session Thursday, closing below 13,000 for the first time since March.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 323.58 points, or 2.46%, to finish at 12,814.23.

Already this week, the TSX had fallen 634 points, or 4.6 %, between last Friday to the close of trading on Wednesday.

All 10 of the TSX main groups closed lower Thursday.

The industrials group fell 3.8% after Bombardier Inc, said it expected the market for jets to soften in the coming months.

Bombardier shares dropped 7¢, or 59¢, to $7.81.

The metals and mining group fell more than 4%, while energy stocks were off by 2.29%.

First Calgary Petroleum fell almost 13% and Kinross Gold dropped 5%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index wasn’t spared today’s pain, either. The index fell 45.47 points, or 2.43%, to 1,829.43.

The Canadian dollar slid 0.75 of cent to close at US93.50.

In New York, U.S. stock indices had their steepest decline in more than two months, as more signs of weakness in the labor market and increasingly sluggish growth overseas fueled fears about the ability of the U.S. economy to stage a recovery.

The sour mood was set early in the session after a report by ADP Employer Services showed private employers cut 33,000 jobs in August.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 344.65 points, or 2.99%, to 11,188.23, while the S&P 500 dropped 38.15 points, or 2.99%, to 1,236.83. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index tumbled 74.69 points, or 3.20%, to 2,259.04.

It was the biggest one-day percentage drop for the three major indices since June 26.