Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX dropped 72.53 points, or 1.08%, to 6,664.90.

Europe stock markets ended lower. Shares of Lloyds TSB Group Plc rose after Goldman Sachs said it thinks the British bank's profitability may improve. GlaxoSmithKline fell after halting the study of an asthma treatment.

London's FTSE index ended down 18.5 points, or 0.51%, to 3,603.7. In Paris, the CAC-40 index lost 19.37 points, or 0.66%, to 2,898.60. In Frankfurt, the DAX index fell 93.4 points, or 3.3%, to 2,717.82.

In Asia, stocks finished with losses. Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 59.27 points, or 0.67%, to 8,731.65 amid a lack of fresh news and war fears. Profit taking sent high-tech stocks lower.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng index declined 124.10 points, or 1.29%, to 9,460.60.