Markets in Canada and the U.S. sank in the last hour of trading Wednesday, with U.S. markets down around 1.6 per cent after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates.  

The S&P/TSX Composite Index was down 122.14 points, or 0.62 per cent, at 19,532.78.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 530.49 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 32,030.11. The S&P 500 Index was down 65.90 points, or 1.7 per cent, at 3,936.97, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 190.15 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 11,669.96.

The Canadian dollar traded for 72.93 cents U.S. compared with 72.96 cents U.S. on Tuesday.

The May crude contract was up US$1.23 cents at US$70.90 per barrel and the May natural gas contract was down 18 cents at US$2.31 per mm/BTU.

The April gold contract was up US$8.50 at US$1,949.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up five cents at US$4.04 a pound.