Markets in Toronto fell on Monday, hitting their lowest level in more than five weeks, as soft commodity prices trumped positive sentiment over stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data and company results.
The S&P/TSX composite index approached noon Monday down 17.48 points to 12,184.56, off its lows of the morning. Earlier, the index touched a session low of 12,137.18, its weakest level since September 6.
The Canadian dollar nipped 0.07 cents higher to 102.24 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold dropped 1.7% to $37.66, Goldcorp Inc lost 1.6% to $41.98 and Canadian Natural Resources retreated 1.8% to $29.71.
Canadian banks and insurers are also expected to report impressive earnings, offsetting poor financial results for commodity producers.
Bank of Nova Scotia rose 0.3% to $53.36 and Manulife Financial climbed 0.3% to $11.89.
On the economic beat, the average price of a Canadian home inched 1.1% higher to $355,777 in September, even as the number of homes sold fell sharply
The Canadian Real Estate Association's monthly sales data released Monday also show the volume of home sales across the country was 15.1% lower in September 2012 compared to the same month a year earlier.
CREA also said more than half of all local markets posted declines of at least 10%
Internationally, a 100-billion-euro aid request from Spain to its euro-zone partners would shave 1.5% off Italy's economic output, the finance minister in Rome was quoted as saying.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange eased 10.46 points to 1,282.35
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by noon. Gold slipped 1.3%, materials were off 0.9%, and the metals and mining group was 0.8% to the bad.
The four gainers were led by financials, up 0.5%, industrials, picking up 0.2% and consumer discretionaries, up 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks held modest gains Monday as investors digested the latest corporate earnings and economic data, including a sharp rise in retail sales.
The Dow Jones Industrial average leaped 78.75 points, to break for lunch at 13,407.60
The S&P 500 prospered 6.01 points to 1,434.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq recovered 13.02 points to 3,057.14.
Bank stocks were among the best performers after Citigroup reported third-quarter earnings that topped analysts' forecasts. Shares of
Citi rose about 5%. Bank of America and JPMorgan were also higher.
Shares of toy maker Hasbro fell more than 2% after analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to sell. Goldman cited a sharp decline in the amount of money American consumers spend on toys and games. Shares of rival toy company Mattel also dipped.
Eli Lilly shares rose after the pharmaceutical company said a study of its gastric cancer drug showed positive results.
Shares of rival drug maker Abbott rose after it announced upbeat results for an initial study of its treatment of hepatitis C.
Texas Instruments shares gained on speculation that Amazon is in talks to buy TI's smartphone microchip business.
Economically speaking, retail sales jumped 1.1% in September, boosted by higher gas prices and electronic sales, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's higher than the 0.7% rise expected by analysts.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's monthly Empire State Manufacturing Index remained in negative territory in October, but improved to a reading of -6.2 compared to a reading of -10.4 in September.
Overseas, a report Monday showed that inflation in China slowed in September. Chinese consumers paid 1.9% more for goods in September than they did a year earlier, the government's National Bureau of Statistics reported. That's down from a 2% increase in August.
The price of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notched down, raising the yield to 1.67% from 1.66% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slipped $1.09 to $90.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $24.70 to $1,735 U.S. an ounce.
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