TORONTO — Shopify Inc. ceded its claim as the leading stock in Canada as the technology sector led North American stock markets lower after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it could be more aggressive in removing stimulus.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 196.86 points to 21,039.66.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 392.54 points at 36,407.11. The S&P 500 index was down 92.96 points at 4,700.58, while the Nasdaq composite lost 522.55 points or 3.3 per cent at 15,100.17.

The Canadian dollar traded for 78.63 cents US compared with 78.69 cents US on Tuesday.

The February crude oil contract was up 86 cents at US$77.85 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up 16.5 cents at US$3.88 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was up US$10.50 at US$1,825.10 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 6.2 cents at US$4.41 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2022.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD=X)

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