North American stock markets were pulled down by a sharp jump in the reported number of novel coronavirus cases in China.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 11.68 points at 17,821.17.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 128.11 points at 29,423.31. The S&P 500 index was down 5.51 points at 3,373.94, while the Nasdaq composite was down 13.99 points at 9,711.97.

The Canadian dollar traded for US75.44¢ compared with an average of US75.45¢ on Wednesday.

The March crude contract was up US25¢ at US$51.42 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down US1.8¢ at US$1.83 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$1,578.80 an ounce and the March copper contract was up US1.3¢ at US$2.61 a pound.