Canada's main stock index looked lost some of its oomph Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Union summit, after Greece and its creditors failed to agree on a deal and Germany called for Athens to give up budgetary control.
The S&P TSX Composite Index declined 106.34 points at the start of the week to 12,360.16
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.41 cents to 99.43 cents U.S.,
Stocks to watch this morning include Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which has withdrawn its sweetened takeover bid for ISTA Pharmaceuticals Inc citing a lack of progress.
Siemens AG said it will buy RuggedCom in a deal valued at about $382 million, topping a recent $280-million offer from U.S. manufacturer Belden Inc.
Algonquin Power and Utilities Corp. said it would not go ahead with its planned $83 million purchase of a minority stake in U.S.-based wind farm operator First Wind Holdings, citing regulatory delays in Maine.
Copper Mountain Mining expects to produce 85-90 million pounds of copper this year at its flagship mine in southern British Columbia.
Northstar Aerospace Inc. said it received a notice from a major customer claiming breach of its obligations under certain contracts.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange tailed off 8.26 points to 1,620.66, while the Nasdaq Canada index shed 4.40 points to 407.86.
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups began the day in the red. Metals and mining tilted lower by 2.7%, while materials and global base metals each fell 1.8%.
The two gainers were utilities, up only 0.1%, and consumer staples, 0.04%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks tumbled at the open Monday, after the weekend came and went without Greek leaders reaching an agreement on a debt-relief deal.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 130.14 points, or 1%, to 12,530.30
The S&P 500 sank 12.12 points to 1,304.21, while the tech-rich Nasdaq tripped 32.08 to 2,784.47
Bank stocks were sharply lower, with Bank of America leading the Dow's decline as shares slid more than 3%. Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs were all down between 1% and 2%.
Wendy's shares fell after the fast-food chain reported earnings per share of one cent U.S., the same as the year-ago quarter.
Buzz gathered Friday about a possible Facebook IPO after the Wall Street Journal reported that the filing could come on Wednesday. Shares of fellow social media firms LinkedIn, Pandora, Groupon and Zynga gained on the news Friday. Zynga continued to move higher Monday.
Greek officials finished the weekend without a deal in their ongoing talks with private-sector creditors, and investors will be looking this week for the parties to finally reach an agreement. Without such a deal, the country jeopardizes its access to bailout funds and might
not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment due March 20.
European Union leaders will gather Monday for their first summit of the year.
The official agenda is focused on striking a balance between more austere fiscal measures for nations with unsustainable levels of debt and policies that will help revive economic growth across the 17-member euro-currency area.
But difficult debt negotiations in Greece have revived concerns about a default, and investors are growing worried about Portugal, where borrowing costs continue to soar.
On the economic beat, personal income ticked up 0.5% in December, while spending remained flat, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Meanwhile, the personal consumption expenditures price index -- a measure of inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve -- showed prices, excluding energy and food, rose 0.2% in December, up from a 0.1% gain in November.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note leaped, lowering yields to 1.83% from Friday’s 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery skidded 91 cents to $98.65 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $4.30 to $1,727.90 U.S. an ounce.
