Canada's main stock index dropped on Monday, with every major sector lower, as anxiety over democracy protests in Hong Kong rekindled the bearish sentiment that swept the market last week.
The S&P/TSX composite index ended the day lower by 49.85 points to 14,976.92
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 89.66 cents U.S.
Metals and mining stocks dropped as HudBay Minerals went south 2.9% to $9.63, and Teck Resources shed 1.9% to $21.10.
The energy sector was in positive territory, as Encana Corp. shares jumped 2.1% to $24.08, after the company said it agreed to buy Fort Worth, Texas-based Athlon Energy for $5.93 billion U.S. in cash.
Outside of Encana, shares of energy producers such as Canadian Natural Resources, gave back 0.8% to $43.75 and Suncor Energy fell 1% to $40.28.
Financials were negative as Royal Bank of Canada lost 1.2% to $79.51, and Toronto-Dominion Bank declined 0.7% to $55.00.
Utilities gained as Emera Inc. took on 2.9% to $34.74, and Fortis Inc. jumped 1.3%, to $34.57.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slid 6.66 points to 912.76
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower on the day, as metals and mining toppled 1.6%, while their cousins among global base metals slid 1.4%, and materials ducked back 0.9%.
The five gainers were led by utilities, clicking 1% higher, energy, up 0.4%, and consumer staples, forging ahead 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
Nervousness triggered by unrest in Hong Kong and a brief spike in the dollar pushed investors toward safe havens, while U.S. equities lost ground on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrials was down 41.93 points to 17,071.22
The S&P 500 dropped 5.05 points to 1,977.80. The NASDAQ slid 6.34 points to 4,505.85.
DreamWorks Animation SKG surged 23% after The Hollywood Reporter said Japanese conglomerate SoftBank is looking to acquire the animation studio.
Athlon Energy Inc jumped 24% on news Encana Corp will buy it for $5.93 billion U.S. in cash.
Shares of Ambit Biosciences Corp. climbed 85% to $15.22 on news Daiichi Sankyo Co. will buy Ambit for about $315 million U.S. in cash.
European Union regulators are expected to publish a report on Tuesday showing that the tax practices of Apple Inc. and Fiat SpA violated EU law, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Apple shares fell 0.9%.
Late Friday, Yahoo! Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer said the company is reviewing a letter from activist investor Starboard Value, urging it to merge with AOL Inc. Shares were off slightly.
Options contracts on shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. were expected to become available on Monday. Shares fell 1.8% on Monday.
On the economic front, U.S. consumer spending rebounded in August as Americans spent more on heavy-duty items such autos and less on non-durable goods like gasoline, while income increased as well.
A gauge of pending home sales fell 1% in August, pulling back from an 11-month high in July, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.
At least some of the early unrest in the market stemmed from violent pro-democracy clashes in Hong Kong over the weekend and on Monday, which forced some banks and businesses to close and pushed the Hang Seng Index 1.9% lower.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained, lowering yields to 2.49% from Friday’s 2.54%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 91 cents to $94.45 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices remained positive $1.60 to $1,217.00 U.S. an ounce.
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