Equities in Toronto fell in early trade on Monday, weighed down by energy stocks as oil prices fell and as shares in telecom companies also lost ground.
The S&P/TSX Composite dropped 102.4 points to start the day and the week at 15,393.65.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.04 cents to 75.48 cents U.S.
Sources said Onex Corp. is nearing a deal to acquire Ferrara Candy Co, potentially valuing one of the largest U.S. makers of non-chocolate confectionary at close to $1.3 billion, including debt.
Onex shares gathered 15 cents to $88.95.
CIBC cuts price target price on Detour Gold to $24.00 from $26.00, saying Detour Lake has consistently fallen behind with its mining rates.
The lower-than-expected mining rates have had a negative impact on both head grade and recovery.
Detour shares gave back 23 cents, or 1.1%, to $20.35.
RBC cut the price target on Intact Financial to $107 from $108 to reflect the slightly lower estimated BVPS growth in the near term.
Intact shares dropped $1.79, or 1.9%, to $94.78.
Barclays raised the price target on Penn West Petroleum to $3.00 from $2.50 after the company announced better-than-expected 2017 forecast.
Penn West fell six cents, or 2.2%, to $2.63.
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on Yamana Gold to $7.25 from $10.50 reflecting a 10% reduction in its long-term gold price assumption, and also due to a more conservative treatment of the company’s Brio interest and a weaker outlook at El Penon.
Yamana shares zoomed 12 cents, or 3%, to $4.19.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 5.62 points to 797.06
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were in the red to begin Monday, with energy dimming 2%, while financials and telecoms each shed 0.8%.
The three gainers were gold, up 0.5%, materials, inching up 0.2%, and health-care, eking up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks stateside traded mostly lower on Monday, pulling back from record levels, as investors geared up for the start of earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrials backtracked 62.33 points to 19,901.47, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most losses.
The S&P 500 demurred 6.86 points from Friday’s all-time high to 2,270.04, with energy leading decliners
The NASDAQ composite index surrendered 1.83 points to 5,519.23 from Friday’s all-time high. Limiting losses among tech stocks were gains registered by Ariad Pharmaceuticals, which spiked more than 70% after announcing it's being taken over by pharmaceutical giant Takeda.
Financial giants Bank of America, BlackRock and JPMorgan Chase are among the companies slated to report this week. The financial sector has posted a sharp rally since Donald Trump's U.S. election victory, rising 17.9% since Nov. 8, as of Friday's close.
S&P 500 earnings per share are expected to record a 4.4% year-over-year increase, according to experts.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained ground, lowering yields to 2.38% from Friday’s 2.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $1.31 to $52.68 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices restored $5.40 to $1,178.80 U.S. an ounce.
