BRASILIA, Brazil — Don’t panic.
That was Stephen Harper’s message Monday as the Toronto stock market plunged to its lowest level in almost a year on the first day of trading after the United States had its credit rating bumped down a tier.
“To date, this doesn’t change our overall assessment,” the prime minister said during a visit to the Brazilian capital.
“Notwithstanding the fragility of the economy and the headwinds that are there, we believe that a gradual recovery can continue. Our policies have been achieving that in Canada . . . But obviously we have to do more.”
The S&P/TSX composite index fell nearly 500 points Monday — its biggest one-day drop since Dec. 1, 2008, when markets were still reeling from the near collapse of the financial sector. Wall Street was also hit hard, with the Dow industrials down more than 600 points.
The turmoil came after Standard & Poor’s stripped the United States of its top-notch AAA credit rating for the first time. The credit rating agency bumped the U.S. down one rung to AA+.
At a signing ceremony with Harper for several modest bilateral deals, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff criticized the credit-rating agency for an “incorrect assessment.”
“We do not agree with the rushed evaluation, a little bit too quick evaluation, and I would even say incorrect assessment made by Standard & Poor’s which reduced the credit rating of the United States.”
The Prime Minister’s Office later clarified that Rousseff was speaking on behalf of Brazil, not Canada.