North American stock markets edged down Tuesday to close what has been a rough February for investors.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 38.94 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 20,221.19.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 232.39 points at 32,656.70. The S&P 500 Index was down 12.09 points at 3,970.15, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 11.44 points at 11,455.54.

The Canadian dollar also fell, trading for 73.48 cents U.S. compared with 73.68 cents U.S. on Monday.

The April crude contract was up US$1.37 at US$77.05 per barrel and the April natural gas contract was up one-and-a-half cents at US$2.75 per mm/BTU.

The April gold contract was up US$11.80 at US$1,836.70 an ounce and the May copper contract was up eight cents at US$4.09 a pound.