North American stock markets were weaker after the Federal Reserve chairman poured cold water on hopes of interest rate cuts and the price of oil and precious metals moved lower.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 77.98 points at 16,502.75.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 162.77 points at 26,430.14. The S&P 500 index was down 22.10 points at 2,923.73, while the Nasdaq composite was down 45.75 points at 8,049.64.

The Canadian dollar traded at an average of US74.54¢ compared with an average of US74.50¢ on Tuesday.

The June crude contract was down 31¢ at US$63.60 per barrel and the June natural gas contract was up 4.5¢ at US$2.62 per mmBTU.

The June gold contract was down US$1.50 at US$1,284.20 an ounce and the July copper contract was down 10.25¢ at US$2.80 a pound.