A trader at the TSXCHRIS YOUNG
Canada's benchmark stock index entered a bear market this afternoon, as investors continue to dump equities on concern Europe's debt crisis will slow economic growth.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 260.70 points, or 2.2 per cent, to 11,363.33 as of 1:27 p.m. in Toronto. That brings the gauge's retreat from its 52-week high in April to 20 per cent, the level that many traders use as signalling the beginning of a bear market.
Financial markets worldwide have tumbled this year on speculation Greece will default on its debt, threatening capital at some of Europe's biggest banks and risking a global economic recession. The S&P/TSX has fallen 15.6 per cent this year and is on course for its second-biggest annual drop since 1990.