The Toronto stock market remained in negative territory near midday as commodity prices pulled back on concerns about the growth of the global economy.
The S&P/TSX composite index subtracted 42.94 points to approach noon at 12,340.66
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.41 cents to 102.02 cents U.S.
The TSX gold sector was down with Barrick Gold Corp. dropping 32 cents to $41.30. Energy stocks were off, and Talisman Energy fell 22 cents to $13.40.
In corporate developments, Canaccord Financial Inc. is closing 16 branches of its wealth management firms across the country and reducing the number of advisors at the remaining Canadian locations, which will be concentrated in major cities. Shares of the company dropped 20 cents to $5.90.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. says it has paid $62.5 million to acquire the U.S. rights to Visudyne, a treatment for a common form of age-related blindness. Under the deal with Vancouver-based QLT Inc., which developed Visudyne, Valeant could pay up to an additional $20 million. Valeant shares moved up 52 cents to $53.87.
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is adding British Airways to its list of code-share partners, which will allow its customers to book flights to several Canadian cities through the U.K.-based carrier. WestJet shares were down three cents to $17.30.
Hanfeng Evergreen Inc., a fertilizer company focused on China and other Pacific Rim countries, says it has taken a $10-million writedown to reflect the reduced value of its publicly traded stock.
The company, which has its Canadian head office in Toronto, said the writedown and other charges resulted in a loss of $2.5 million or four cents per share in its fiscal fourth quarter. Hanfeng shares were ahead five cents to $1.79.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange skidded 8.83 points to 1,336.89
The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly divided by noon between gainers and losers. The former group was led by health-care, 0.8% more robust, telecoms, beaming 0.6% higher, and industrials, booming 0.5% better.
The seven laggards were weighed mostly by gold, off 1.6%, materials, 1.4% worse than Friday, and energy, 1.3% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were in the red Monday as persistent pessimism over the global business climate weighed on markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial average were 24.03 points shy of breakeven midday to 13,555.40
The S&P 500 index docked 4.34 points, to 1,455.81, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 21.87 points to 3,158.10
Investors reacted early Monday to a report that showed Germany's business climate index falling to its lowest level since February 2010.
Apple's stock fell more than 1% after the company said it sold more than five million iPhone 5 devices during its first weekend on the market. This was considered slightly disappointing. Separately, Foxconn, which supplies parts to Apple, shut its China plant after a brawl broke out.
Shares of U.S. Steel fell nearly 3% after Citigroup analysts downgraded the company's stock to 'neutral' from 'buy.' Citi also downgraded AK Steel to 'sell' from 'neutral,' sending the steel producer's shares down more than 4%.
Homebuilder Lennar reported better-than-expected earnings, sending shares of the company higher in early trading.
TiVo shares soared nearly 6% after the company reached a $250-million U.S.settlement with Verizon over a patent dispute.
Facebook's shares slumped another 6% early Monday after a Barron's story called the stock a bad investment.
The start of the week also marks the Dow debut of UnitedHealth, which replaces soon-to-be-split-up Kraft.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 1.71% from Friday’s 1.76%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices doffed $1.44 a barrel to $91.45 U.S.
Gold futures for December delivery fell $9.50 to $1,768.50 U.S. an ounce.
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