The Canadian S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 1.42% at 31,854.98 points, approaching the January 2 closing level of 31,830.12 points.

On Thursday (March 19), during the late North American trading session, the yield on Canada's 10-year benchmark government bond fell by 1.6 basis points to 3.438%. The yield on the two-year Canadian bond rose by 8.2 basis points to 2.839%; the yield on the five-year Canadian bond increased by 2.2 basis points to 3.045%. The Argentina MERVAL Index closed up 2.78%, at 2.769 millions points.