North American stock markets had their worst day in months on growing concerns about the impact of the new coronavirus.

The S&P/TSX composite index posted a triple-digit decline, closing down 172.07 points or 1% at 17,318.49.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 603.41 points or 2.1% at 28,256.03. The S&P 500 index was down 58.14 points at 3,225.52, while the Nasdaq composite was down 148 points at 9,150.94.

The Canadian dollar traded for US75.57¢ compared with an average of US75.66¢ on Thursday.

The March crude contract was down US58¢ at US$51.56 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was up US1.2¢ at US$1.84 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was down US$1.30 at US$1,587.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down 0.7 of a cent at US$2.52 a pound.