The TSX composite lost 83.77 points to 12,794.81 in mid-morning trading on Wednesday. The Dow was down 11.70 to 14,438.36, while NASDAQ dropped 1.02 to 3,241.30.
Alamos Gold Inc. (TSX: T.AGI, Stock Forum) CEO John McCluskey said the company was likely to walk away from a bid to buy Aurizon Mines Ltd. (TSX: T.ARZ, Stock Forum) if it loses a regulatory ruling on the merits of a poison pill adopted by Aurizon and the break fee committed to rival bidder Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL, Stock Forum). Alamos fell 1.83% to $14.48 in mid-morning trading.
The price of gold fell US$7.01 to US$1,585.98 an ounce, while silver slipped US$0.31 to US$28.89 an ounce.