Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market dropped to a triple-digit loss Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress the U.S. economic outlook remains “unusually uncertain.”

The S&P/TSX composite index closed down 116.55 points to 11,513.33.

Bernanke said the Fed is “prepared to take further policy actions as needed” to keep the recovery on track.

He also said record low interest rates are still needed to bolster the economy, and repeated a pledge to keep them there for an “extended period.”

Canadian financials fell 1.9% following Bernanke’s testimony. Shares in Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS) lost $1.07 or 2.1% to C$50.01.

The recovery south of the border has been losing momentum and fears are growing that it could stall. Spendthrift consumers and businesses, a stagnant housing market and near double-digit unemployment have weighed on an already edgy Wall Street that’s been shaken by Europe’s debt crisis.

By comparison, the Canadian recovery still appears to be on track, with strong first-quarter GDP growth and robust employment numbers.

The Canadian dollar lost 0.26 cent to 95.45 cents U.S. as oil prices moved lower. The September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost $1.02 to close at US$76.56 a barrel.

The energy sector slumped 1.2% after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories rose by 400,000 barrels last week. That surprised analysts, who predicted a decline of 1.6 million barrels.

Disappointing earnings natural gas producer Encana Corp. also pressured the TSX energy sector. Encana (TSX:ECA) shares tumbled $1.59 or 4.6% to C$32.90 after the company reported a second-quarter loss and a $1-billion drop in revenue.

Gold stocks lost 0.6% as the August bullion contract was virtually unchanged, closing up 10 cents at US$1,191.80 an ounce. Shares in Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) fell four cents to C$42.16.

The base metals sector added 1.5% as the September copper contract on the Nymex jumped 9.15 cents to US$3.09 a pound. Shares in Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) climbed 83 cents or 2.4% to C$35.14.

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 2.47 points to 1,365.56.

New York markets moved lower following Bernanke’s speech. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 109.43 points to 10,120.53. The Nasdaq composite index was down 35.16 points at 2,187.33 while the S&P 500 index fell 13.89 points to 1,069.59.

Investors are trying to get a read on the economy through companies’ results, but earnings have been mixed over the past week, which has led to volatile trading. Profit is mostly improving, but sales are not growing fast enough at some companies to reassure investors that the recovery is picking up steam.

“I think the emphasis is probably off the earnings this time. I think the emphasis now is on the outlook,” said Adrian Mastracci, portfolio manager at KCM Wealth Management in Vancouver.

“The future is more important today then the past quarter’s earnings.”

Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), Coca-Cola (Nasdaq:COKE), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) all impressed analysts Wednesday with strong results. But Internet company Yahoo (Nasdaq:YHOO) was hurt by weak revenue growth, as were several other companies that have already reported.

In Canadian news, Statistics Canada said wholesale sales slipped 0.1% in May to $44.1 billion because of a sharp decline in the agricultural supplies industry due to flooding in the West.

Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) raised its market forecast for commercial aircraft over the next two decades. The world’s third-largest aircraft manufacturer believes the industry as a whole will deliver 12,800 commercial planes by 2029, including 6,700 jets in the category occupied by its new CSeries plane. Bombardier expects to capture half of the global market. Shares in the Montreal-based company added 13 cents or 2.8% to C$4.78.

Shares in Blackberry-maker Research in Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) fell $1.79 or 3.1% to $55.94 as its main competitor Apple reported the highest revenues in its history.

The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board said it will continue to battle Magna International Inc. (TSX:MG.A) in court if the auto parts giant gets shareholder approval for a deal that would see founder Frank Stronach receive about $1 billion in exchange for giving up his voting control of the company. Shares in Magna lost 88 cents to $75.04.

And shares in Imax Corp. (TSX:IMX) added 21 cents to $14.18 after the company announced a deal to supply its equipment to eight theatres in China.