Canada's main stock index fell more than 1.8% on Monday as investors fretted about the impact if Greece exits the euro, with banks taking the brunt of the losses and gold miners listed among the few gainers.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 282.11 points, or 1.9%, to greet noon at 14,525.98
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.25 cents to 80.79 cents U.S.
Canadian markets are to be shuttered Wednesday for Canada Day.
Greece's banks and stock market were closed and were expected to remain so until after the July 5 snap referendum called by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on further austerity demanded by euro-zone partners
A Reuters poll showed that strategists expect Canadian stocks to edge higher in the second half of the year before picking up further in early 2016.
The six most influential weights on the Canadian stock index were all financial, with Royal Bank of Canada falling 2.4% to $76.42 and Toronto-Dominion Bank declining 2.1% to $53.19.
Among gold-mining shares, Barrick Gold Corp rose 0.7% to $13.53, and Goldcorp Inc advanced 0.8% to $20.48.
On the positive side, Element Financial rose 1.4% to $19.08 after agreeing to buy General Electric fleet management operations in the United States, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand for $8.6 billion.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada’s industrial product price index increased 0.5% in May, mainly because of higher prices for energy and petroleum products, while its raw materials price index increased 4.4% during the same month, largely as a result of higher prices for crude energy products.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange shed 5.38 points to 674.
All 14 TSX subgroups pointed downward by noon, with financials sliding 2.4%, and consumer staples tumbling 2.3%, and financials off 2.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded more than 1% lower on Monday, following a decline in global markets as the Greece debt crisis escalated over the weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrials moved south 202.59 points, or 1.1%, to 17,744.09, with Visa leading nearly all blue chips lower. Pfizer was the only advancer.
The S&P 500 index swooned 24.09 points to 2,077.40, with only utilities advancing and materials and financials declining about 1.4% to lead nine sectors lower.
The NASDAQ fell 68.5 points to 5,012.
In corporate news, coal stocks Consol Energy and Peabody Energy surged on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against the Obama administration that said it failed to consider costs when deciding to regulate mercury pollution from power plants.
Gannett splits in two, effective today. The existing parent company is renamed Tegna and will own 46 broadcast stations as well as the Cars.com and Careerbuilder.com websites. The newspaper operations, including USA Today, are spun out into a new company which will carry the Gannett name and ticker symbol.
J.B. Hunt Transport Services will join the S&P 500 this week, replacing Integrys Energy Group. Integrys is being acquired by Wisconsin Energy in a deal that's expected to close this week.
The only economic data out Monday is pending home sales, which showed an increase of 0.9% in May, slightly below expectations.
Investors will closely watch Thursday's non-farm payrolls report for further indications on the timing of a rate hike. Markets are closed Friday in observance of the July 4 holiday.
In what one source called an indication of "failing leadership," Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a referendum for July 5, in which Greeks will vote on whether to accept the austerity rescue package previously offered by Athens' creditors.
Greece's banks and main stock exchange are closed this week to prevent a run on financial institutions. The central bank has also recommended a 60-euro ($66 U.S.) limit on withdrawals from cash machines.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries zoomed, lowering yields to 2.39% from Friday’s 2.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell $1.12 a barrel to $58.51 U.S.
Gold prices gained $4.10 at $1,177.30 U.S. an ounce.
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