Losses in tech, utilities and industrials weighed down gains in some of the other sectors on Canada's main stock index Wednesday, while U.S. markets were also down.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 45.46 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 20,679.54.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 207.68 points at 33,949.01. The S&P 500 Index was down 46.14 points, or 1.1 per cent, at 4,117.86, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 203.27 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 11,910.52.

The Canadian dollar traded for 74.47 cents U.S. compared with 74.43 cents U.S. on Tuesday.

The March crude contract was up US$1.33 cents at US$78.47 per barrel and the March natural gas contract was down 19 cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.

The April gold contract was up US$5.90 at US$1,890.70 an ounce and the March copper contract was down five cents at US$4.04 a pound.