Toronto's main stock index opened lower Monday, led by a fall in commodity prices, as investors turned their attention back to the struggling U.S. economy.
The S&P/TSX Composite index bowed 33.41 points to begin the day and week at 12,466.06
The Canadian dollar faded 0.20 to 102.80 cents U.S.
Lowe's Cos Inc said that it had withdrawn its $1.8-billion offer to acquire RONA Inc. company after stiff opposition to the unsolicited bid. It said the $14.50-a-share proposal was not the best deal for its stockholders.
Bank of Montreal will cut an additional 200 jobs in its U.S. division as part of the integration of Wisconsin lender Marshall & Illsley, which it bought in 2011 for $4.1 billion, and it warned more cuts are on the way.
A day before a strike deadline at the Detroit Three automakers, the Canadian Auto Workers chose Ford Motor Co as the lead company for contract talks, saying the union believes it has the best chance of reaching a deal with Ford and averting a damaging work stoppage.
Speaking of things economic, Figures released by Statistics Canada showed non-resident investors acquired $6.7 billion of Canadian securities in July, after ridding themselves of $7.8 billion of our investments in June.
Canadian investment in foreign securities strengthened to $4.6 billion and was equally split between debt and equity securities.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange added 2.40 points to 1,320.51
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower at the outset. Metals and mining doffed 1.2%, information technology lost 1.1% and global base metals slipped 1%.
The lone gainers were energy, up 0.3%, and utilities, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks edged lower Monday as investors took a step back from last week's Fed-inspired rally.
The Dow Jones Industrial average let go of 19.14 points to open at 13,574.20
The S&P 500 index lost 3.38 points, to 1,462.39 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index stumbled 7.69 points to 3,176.26
Markets hit multi-year highs last week following the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing, or QE3, announcement, whereby the central bank said it would buy $40 billion U.S.of mortgage backed securities each month.
But as excitement wears off, investors will be keeping even closer tabs on economic data for any clues as to how long the central bank's easing will be needed.
Shares of LDK, a large Chinese solar products manufacturer, sank more than 4% after the company reported a second quarter loss of $92 million U.S.
Apple shares hit another all-time high Monday, coming within spitting distance of $700 U.S., as pre-orders for the iPhone5 sold out and people started lining up outside stores to get their hands on the latest iPhone, which doesn't hit store shelves until Friday. Early Monday, AT&T said the iPhone 5 was the fastest selling iPhone it has ever offered.
With little on the docket Monday, trading is expected to be somewhat muted. The only economic report of note, the September Empire State Manufacturing Survey, indicated that manufacturing in New York continued to slip.
The general business conditions index edged another five points lower to -10.4, according to the report, released ahead of the opening bell by the New York's Federal Reserve. It was also weaker than economists had expected.
Investors will get a broader view on manufacturing later in the week, when the Philadelphia Fed releases its report.
But housing data will dominate, with reports on mortgages, housing starts, building permits and existing home sales due out starting Tuesday.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose slightly, pushing the yield down to 1.85% from 1.87% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices for September delivery added 30 cents to $99.30 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery added five cents to $1,773.20 U.S. an ounce.
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