The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that U.S. and Canadian stocks ended sharply lower Wednesday with Treasury yields rising again and investors assessing the latest batch of quarterly corporate results and forecasts. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that mounting tensions in the Middle East stoked risk aversion. Safe-haven gold hit its highest in more than two months while the Cboe Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, rose. Dividend-rich sectors in Toronto were particularly hard hit, with industrials, real estate, financials and the telcos all down by about 2 per cent. The yield on U.S. 10-year notes rose 4.9 basis points after earlier in the day hitting 4.928 per cent, the highest since July, 2007. The Canada 10-year was up 3.4 basis points at 4.108 per cent, moving closer to a 16-year high it touched earlier this month at 4.292 per cent. Yields edged higher after data showing a rebound in U.S. single-family home building, stoking the view the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer. U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Israel after an attack on a hospital in Gaza derailed plans for a summit with Arab leaders. The S&P/TSX composite ended down 242.1 points at 19,450.70.