Toronto stocks plunged to their lowest closing level in two weeks on Wednesday as high-flying energy issues took a hit from lower crude prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 135.12 points, or 1.16%, to 11,554.49.

Trading was heavy with over 327 million shares changing hands.

The energy sector fell 1.96%, while the materials group, fell 1.94%. All 10 of the TSX major groups ended down.

Energy shares fell as crude oil prices sipped below US$66 a barrel as unusually warm weather curbed heating fuel demand.

Shares of EnCana Corp. finished down $1.91, or 3%, at $54.44, while Nexen Inc. eased c$2.50, or 4%, to C$60.20.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index shed 16.16 points, or 0.68%, to end at 2,376.10.

In New York, weaker than expected earnings in the technology sector sparked a second day of selling, although the markets showed strength in the face of a major selloff in Japan.

While Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 2.94% for the session overnight, prompting the Tokyo stock market to close early due to heavy volume, Wall Street remained focused on earnings from Intel Corp. and Yahoo Inc.

Yet despite the tech sector’s losses, other stocks generally held firm, resisting a broader selloff after the U.S. Labor Department reported better-than-expected retail inflation data.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 23.05 points, or 1%, to 2,279.64.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 41.46 points, or 0.38%, to 10,854.86, and the S&P 500 index lost 5.00 points, or 0.39%, to 1,277.93.