Canadian stocks declined Monday, pressured in part by losses in the heavily weighted energy sector as crude futures pulled back from eight-month highs on concerns about global growth.
The S&P TSX Composite Index concluded the week’s first session down 25.39 points to 12,700.38.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.04 cents at 100.10 U.S. cents, as prices for crude and copper fell following substantial gains last week.
Among decliners, Suncor Energy slumped 90 cents, or 2.4% to $36.07, and Talisman Energy fell 16 cents, or 1.1%, to $14.08, and Imperial Oil Ltd. fell 55 cents, or 1.1%, to $48.25.
Dollar-denominated oil futures fell Monday as the dollar rose against the euro. The recent surge in oil prices weighed on the European single currency on concerns about the effect of higher prices on fragile economies in the region. The Group of 20 finance ministers over the weekend said they are "alert to the risks" of rising oil prices.
Standing out on the Toronto index were shares of Petrominerales slid $4.62, or 19.5%, to $19.08 after the oil-exploration company said reserves in 2011 fell 14% from the year-ago period to 51.5 million barrels.
A number of gold issues fell Monday as Goldcorp Inc. declined 37 cents, or 0.8%, to $48.27, and Barrick Gold Corp. dipped 40 cents, or 0.8%, to $48.45.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange cut 10.02 points to 1,679.50, while the Nasdaq Canada index fell 2.64 points to 425.93
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative on the day. Energy stocks dropped 1.4%, while metals and mining issues backtracked 1.2%, and gold stocks were 0.9% duller.
The five gainers were led by health-care, stronger by 1.2%, consumer staples, scraping by 0.3%, and financials, nipping ahead 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were fairly mixed Monday after a better-than-expected report on the housing market offset concerns about the debt crisis in Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrials ended a seesaw kind of day down 1.44 points to 12,981.50
The S&P 500 added 3.48 points to 1,369.22, while the Nasdaq regained 2.41 points to 2,966.16
All three indexes started in the red, after global finance ministers said over the weekend that European Union leaders need to strengthen their financial firewall before other nations will back more money for the International Monetary Fund.
But trading improved after the National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales rose to the highest level since April 2010.
Lowe's shares popped after the home improvement retailer posted better-than-expected earnings and sales for the fourth quarter. Lowe's also issued healthy guidance for 2012.
Transocean booked a $6.1-billion U.S. loss, mostly on one-time charges including a $1-billion U.S. estimated loss on the 2010 spill at its Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico. But shares of the company rose as revenue climbed 11% during the quarter and topped expectations.
After the closing bell, Priceline.com will post quarterly results.
Motorola Solutions said that it bought back $1.2 billion U.S. in stock from activist investor Carl Icahn and affiliates. As part of the transaction, Vincent J. Intrieri, a director of Icahn Enterprises G.P., agreed to resign from the Motorola Solutions' board of directors.
Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway reported that its book value per share rose 4.6% in 2011 -- hardly a mighty leap but enough for the company's chairman, Warren Buffett, to meet his annual goal of beating the total return of the S&P 500 index, which climbed 2.1%.
Economically speaking, the Realtors' index of pending home sales rose 2% in January to 97. It was the highest reading since April 2010, when the index reached 111.3, as buyers were rushing to take advantage of the home buyer tax credit.
The housing index, which measures home sales that are in contract but have not closed, was expected to have risen by 1%, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note gained ground, lowering yields to 1.92% from Friday’s 1.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery capsized $2.19 to $107.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery fell $1.50 to $1,774.90 U.S. an ounce.
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