The base metals nearly all took a thrashing on Wednesday. Copper peaked at the New York open, but sagged with only a couple of feeble rallies through the day, finishing at $2.4025/lb., down 19½ cents. Nickel was crushed, falling below the $6 mark around mid-morning and failing to re-take the level, closing at $5.8173/lb., down 60 cents.

In the currency market, the dollar was little changed against the euro. Late Wednesday, the euro was trading at $1.3672 vs. $1.3653 on Tuesday. The big event du jour was that, “For the first time since September 2001, central banks around the world have delivered a coordinated interest rate cut,” wrote Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT.

The blood bath continued during Tuesday trading on the Canadian Markets, as investors ran for the exits in every sector but gold. For the tale of the tape, the TSX Exchange lost 3.92%, while the TSX Gold Index bucked the trend by gaining 1.2% and the TSX Venture Exchange, Canada’s largest junior exploration bourse, dropped 3.50% with the declining issuers swamping the advancers by a 645 to 348 margin on good volume of 167 million shares traded.

In the energy market Tuesday, crude for November delivery recovered modestly from Monday’s selloff, closing at $90.06/barrel, up $2.25. November reformulated gasoline added less than a half-cent, to $2.0628/gallon.

Gold shot higher in early London trading and, though it skittered around thereafter, failed to give up much of its gains, finishing just off its intraday high at $887.10, up $31.80. Overnight, gold is sharply higher. Platinum got some rub-off love, as it too burst higher in the overseas markets, then weathered a few bouts of selling, to also end just off its intraday high at $1015/oz., up $50. Overnight, platinum has fallen off.