Toronto stocks slumped Wednesday as worries over slower U.S. economic growth were complicated by minutes from last month’s U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that hinted at the need for further interest rate hikes.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 30.31 points, or 0.2%, at 13,400.99.

Seven of the 10 TSX index main groups were lower.

The mining sector dropped 0.9%. Lundin Mining said it struck a $1.4 billion stock-swap deal to acquire Tenke Mining. Tenke shares jumped $4.42 to $23.95 while Lundin dropped 98¢ to $13.90.

The Toronto gold sector dropped 1.3% as the June bullion contract in New York rose 20¢ to US$681.70 an ounce.

The energy sector was off 0.15% after a report from the U.S. government that gasoline inventories plunged four times more than expected last week amid strong demand, down by 5.5 million barrels to 199.7 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 1.3 million-barrel decline.

Light sweet crude oil rose 12¢ to US$62.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The TSX consumer staples sector led gains, rising 1%. Loblaw climbed 90¢ to $47.50.

The junior S&P/TSX venture composite index lost 22.22 points to 3,252.45.

The Canadian dollar climbed 0.53 cent to US87.73¢, a new high for the year.

In New York, U.S. tocks had been down for most of the day, then they raced sharply lower in mid-afternoon when minutes from the Fed’s latest meeting showed policy-makers saw both greater risks of slower economic growth and uncertainty that core inflation would recede.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 89.23 points, or 0.71%, to end at 12,484.62. The S&P 500 dropped 9.52 points, or 0.66%, to finish at 1,438.87. The Nasdaq composite index declined 18.30 points, or 0.74%, to close at 2,459.31.