Energy stocks led the way to a sharp loss in early trading on the Toronto stock market.
The S&P/TSX composite index remained 74.82 points to end the day at 14,469.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 88.98 cents U.S.
The TSX's decline on Monday follows the benchmark's biggest weekly jump in more than a year. Fund managers said investors should expect more volatility in the coming months.
The energy sector fell, paced by a 2.9% drop in sector heavyweight Encana to $20.03.
Precision Drilling Corp. fell 83 cents or 8.3% to $9.12 as the company posted net income of $53 million -- up 82% from a year earlier -- or 18 cents a share.
The drilling company's revenue increased 19.7% to $584.6 million. Revenue and net income were in line with analyst expectations. Precision Drilling is increasing its quarterly dividend by 17% to seven cents a share.
The base metals component was down while December copper gained two cents to $3.06 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources dipped 50 cents, or 2.8%, to $17.35.
The gold sector lost ground, while Goldcorp faded 24 cents, or nearly 1%, to $24.77.
Elsewhere, Valeant Pharmaceuticals says that it's prepared to raise its takeover offer for California-based Botox maker Allergan to $200 U.S. a share. That would be about $21 U.S. per share higher than the value of Valeant's offer as of Friday.
However, Valeant didn't spell out what sort of combination of stock and cash it is prepared to offer. Valeant stock rose $1.34 to $146.55 in Toronto, while Allergan moved lower $2.27, or 1.2%, to $181.94 U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 15.10 points to 790.35.
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, with energy taking it on the chin 2.9%, while metals and mining sank 1.8%, and global base metals dipped 1.5%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by information technology, which picked up 1%, consumer staples, up 0.9%, and real-estate, hiking 0.6%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were mixed in afternoon trading on Monday, pausing after the S&P 500's biggest weekly gain since January 2013, as energy shares fell with another decline in oil prices.
The Dow Jones Industrials found some traction and ended the day up 12.53 to 16,817.94.
The S&P 500 fell 2.95 points to 1,961.63. The NASDAQ index gained 2.21 points to 4,485,93.
Shares of Gilead Sciences, due to report results Tuesday, were up 1.8% and helped to limit some of the declines. Micron Technology jumped 3.5% and was the largest percentage gainer on both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ after it announced a $1-billion U.S. stock repurchase.
Shares of Brazilian companies traded in the United States tumbled after President Dilma Rousseff won reelection in a runoff vote, defeating centrist and market favorite Aecio Neves by a slim margin. Petrobras ADRs slumped 14.4% and Vale lost 6.3%
U.S. services sector activity dipped to a six-month low in October and a separate report showed contracts to buy previously owned homes rebounded less than expected in September.
This week, markets will focus on the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where the central bank is expected to announce the end of quantitative easing.
Traders will be looking to see if the Fed drops the "considerable period" language in referencing its plans keeping rates low, at its two-day policy meeting, which concludes Wednesday. As several Fed officials have come out with dovish comments recently, investors largely expect that guidance to be reiterated.
German business sentiment fell in October for a sixth straight month to its lowest level in almost two years, adding to recent concerns the largest European economy may continue to struggle to grow.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries gained ground, lowering yields to 2.26% from Friday’s 2.27%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dipped 31 cents to $80.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faltered $3.10 to $1,228.70 U.S. an ounce.
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