The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange plunged lower for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, led by a drop in financial services sector stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 183.08 points, or 1.8%, to finish at 9,844.35.

The financials group tumbled 2.5% during Tuesday’s trading.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada tumbled $1.91, or 4%, to $45.78 and the Bank of Nova Scotia fell 3.1% to $41.39.

Toronto-Dominion Bank’s stock slipped 1.6% to $57.55 and Bank of Montreal shed 2.8% to $47.29.

Also lower were shares of Onex Corp., which dropped $0.98, or 4.8%, to close at $19.60.

Meanwhile, crude for August delivery dropped US$1.12, or about 1.8%, to close at US$62.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The drop dragged the energy group down 1.2%.

Husky Energy Inc. fell 2.9% to $29.44 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. declined 1.7% to $54.94.

Shares of Imperial Oil Ltd. dropped $1.18, or 2.8%, to $41.02.

Also lower was Niko Resources Ltd., down 1.4% to $74.35.

The sub-gold index edged higher by 0.4% on Tuesday as gold futures advanced. August gold futures gained US$4.80, or 0.5%, to end at US$929.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Shares of Goldcorp Inc. rose 1.3% to $39.61 and Kinross Gold Corp. advanced 1.4% to $21.51.

Iamgold Corp. shares increased 1.4% to $11.64.

But other resources stocks declined, sending the materials group lower by 0.6%.

Agrium Inc. fell 3.2% to $43.66 and Potash Corp. shed $3.28, or 3%, to close at $107.32.

Shares of First Quantum Minerals Ltd. dropped $1.25, or 2.3%, to finish at $52.58.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index edged slightly higher on Tuesday, adding 4.93 points, or 0.5%, to close at 1,069.56.

The Canadian dollar fell by half a cent against the U.S. dollar, to close at US85.76¢.

U.S. stock market indices were weighed down by energy and industrial stocks on Tuesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 8,163.60, down 161.27 points, or 1.9%.

The S&P 500 index dropped 17.69 points, or 2%, to close at 881.03.

The Nasdaq composite index slid 41.23 points, or 2.3%, to end at 1,746.17.