Canadian stocks fell Monday, led by the energy and mining sectors as both oil and gold logged big losses and renewed anxiety over Greece roiled world markets.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plummeted 206.06 points, or 1.8%, to end the day at 11,488.61
The Canadian dollar settled back 0.25 cents to 99.74 cents U.S.
The TSX fell 1.48% last week on top of a 3% slide the previous week, leaving the Toronto market about 2% below where it started 2012 trading.
Among large-cap companies, shares of Suncor Energy Inc. fell 2.6% to $28.01, shares of Imperial Oil Ltd. dropped 2.4% to $42.19, shares of Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. declined 2.9% to $30.10, and Talisman Energy Inc. shed 5.4% to $10.27.
Shares of Teck Resources Ltd. scaled back 3.9% to $31.70, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. declined 3.4% to $9.16 and Goldcorp Inc. shares faltered 3.7% to $33.61.
Also, shares of Silver Wheaton Corp. plummeted 7.4% to $24.48 and Iamgold Corp. shares tumbled 7.2% to $10.04.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stumbled 42.50 points to 1,303.83, while the Nasdaq Canada deducted 6.40 points to 374.20.
All 14 Toronto subgroups ended the day in the red. Metals and mining got clubbed 4.1%, while materials erased 3.3% and gold slid 3.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks lost ground Monday as investors continued to fret over the political and economic stability of the euro-zone, and worry about the safety of the U.S. banking sector.
Over the weekend, Greece's political crisis appeared to worsen as parties fight for dominance. The debate heightened fears that Greece could be forced to leave the euro-zone.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 125.25 points, or 1%, to close at 12,695.35
The S&P 500 faded 14.39 points to 1,339. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index ducked back 31.24 to 2,902.58.
Shares of JPMorgan, which were down 9% Friday, lost another 2% Monday after the bank announced the retirement of chief investment officer Ina Drew, who oversaw the unit responsible for the trading blunder.
Fitch Ratings downgraded JPMorgan's debt after Friday's closing bell, voicing concern over a "lack of liquidity."
Stocks of rival Wall Street firms Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs all slid roughly 2% Monday, following 4% losses Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped by more than 3%.
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson left the company Sunday, after it was found he padded his resume with an embellished college degree, ending his term there after just four months.
The web-portal company also reached a deal with activist shareholder and Third Point CEO Dan Loeb, who had initially disclosed the problems with Thompson's resume, by agreeing to nominate three of four directors he had put forth for its board.
Beauty company Avon Products said that it would consider the most recent buyout offer from Coty Inc., which upped its offer last week. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is helping to finance the bid and said it would back the purchase.
Shares of online deal site Groupon surged nearly 11% on Monday, ahead of its earnings report, which is due after the bell. In recent months, Groupon has seen accounting problems, shareholder lawsuits and an examination by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the company will report earnings of one cent per share on revenue of $531 million U.S.
Shares of Chesapeake Energy rebounded Monday from their Friday selloff, which was sparked by news that Chesapeake might have to delay some asset sales, which are necessary to pay down its debt.
After Friday's close, the company announced it had arranged for a $3-billion U.S. unsecured loan from Goldman Sachs and affiliates of Jefferies Group. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Carl Icahn is expected to reveal he has increased his stake in the company to more than 5%.
Shares of Best Buy rose after the retailer said former Chief Executive Brian Dunn's relationship with an employee was inappropriate but didn't involve "misuse of company resources" or "misuse of aircraft."
In other news, investors made a dash out of debt securities Monday morning, with the yields on 10-year Greek bonds shooting up to 27.3%.
The yield on the Spanish 10-year bond climbed to 6.33%. Any rate above the 6% benchmark raises the risk that Spain might need a bailout of its own. Italian bond yields also rose, hitting 5.75%.
Meanwhile, the German bond yield slipped to a record low of 1.45%, further raising the spread between Germany and the weaker nations' yields.
Investors will also watch Germany after German Prime Minister Angela Merkel's party lost elections in the nation's largest state on Sunday. Merkel is due to face national elections next year.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury shot upward, pushing the yield down to 1.79% from Friday’s 1.84%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell back another $1.70 to $94.43 U.S.
Gold futures for June delivery lost another $19.70 and reached $1,564.10 U.S. an ounce.
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