Canada's main stock index edged downward Wednesday as the price of oil receded off a strong morning, while U.S. markets slid by a wider margin. 

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 81.23 points, 0.4 per cent, at 20,376.23.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 613.89 points, or 1.8 per cent, at 33,296.96. The S&P 500 Index was down 62.11 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 3,928.86, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 138.10 points, or 1.2 per cent, at 10,957.01.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.41 cents U.S. compared with 74.68 cents U.S. on Tuesday.

The March crude oil contract was down 65 cents at US$79.80 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was down 28 cents at US$3.31 per mmBTU.

The February gold contract was down US$2.90 at US$1,907 an ounce and the March copper contract was up a cent at US$4.23 a pound.