Oct. 28, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --

The Toronto stock market sustained triple-digit losses for a fourth consecutive session Wednesday as a rising U.S. dollar sent commodity prices and the Canadian dollar sharply lower. Within minutes of the closing bell, the S&P/TSX composite index had plummeted 221.05 points, or 2%, to 10,832.49. Investors were also discouraged as hopes for recovery of the American housing sector suffered a setback, further raising doubts about the strength of the U.S. economy. The TSX was already down about 4% over the last three sessions before this latest slide. Analysts pointed out that a round of profit taking wasn't surprising, considering the TSX had gained about 50% since the lows of March with hardly a break. But that gain was based on hopes for a strong economic rebound being in place by late this year and recent economic data, including a report Tuesday that showed an unexpected drop in U.S. consumer confidence, have shaken those hopes. Among energy stocks, EnCana Corp. declined $2.40 to $59.83 on the TSX. Nexen Inc. reported that its profit in the third quarter fell to $122 million or 23 cents a share, down 86% from the same time last year, beating analyst estimates by a penny a share. Nexen's revenue was cut in half to $1.1 billion and its shares were down 46 cents to $23.53. Mining stocks were also under pressure as the December copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange backed off 6.85 cents to $2.93 U.S. a pound and the base metals sector lost ground. Teck Resources dropped $2.64 to $30.42. Sherritt International Corp. reported that net income fell to $55.9 million or 19 cents per share in the third quarter, down from $133.1 million or 45 cents per share a year earlier because of lower commodity prices "largely due to the impact of relatively weakened global industrial demand on the base metals market." Revenue fell 18.5% to $389.6 million and its shares stepped back 39 cents to $6.86. The gold sector was down, as Kinross Gold Inc. faded 87 cents to $19.43. Groups outside the commodity sectors were also down sharply. The tech sector declined and Research In Motion Ltd. moved down $2.20 to $65.50 while the industrial sector moved down with Canadian National Railways down 95 cents to $50.95. In other Canadian earnings news, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. shares ran up 37 cents to $10.83 as the company said quarterly net income came in at $22.5 million or 17 cents a share, compared to a net loss of $12.9 million or 10 cents a share a year ago. Last year's third-quarter had felt the brunt of a Listeria-induced recall at a Maple Leaf plant in Toronto. Quarterly revenues for the company dipped to $1.29 million from $1.34 million last year. Methanex Corp. fell to a third-quarter loss of $831,000 or a penny per share as revenue fell due to lower methanol prices.