Losses on North American markets resumed today, sparked by increasing oil prices and investor preoccupation with a potential interest rate hike. Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index fell 77.79 to 8,127.27.

The price of crude jumped US59¢ to US$40.65 a barrel today — a level not seen since the first Gulf War in 1990. The bad news about oil overshadowed a strong quarterly report from Cisco Systems, which beat profit expectations by a penny a share. Cisco shares shed US92¢ to US$21.33.

This negativity spilled on to tech stocks in Toronto where Nortel Networks dipped 13¢ to $5.31 and ATI Technologies shrank 82¢ to $20.01.

Financial stocks also fell on the TSX. Royal Bank shed 79¢ to $58.81. Scotiabank lost 63¢ to $33.70. Meanwhile, Industrial Alliance Insurance reported an increase in its first-quarter profit, up 29% to a record $36.6 million. However, its shares gave up 84¢ to $42.26.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index was the contrarian exchange today. It added 1.15 points to 1,559.84.

On Wall Street, market losses were severe. The Dow Jones industrials tumbled 136.69 to 9,882.78. The Nasdaq composite index lost 43.51 points to 1,887.84, while the S&P 500 index lost 15.67 points to 1,079.78.