Toronto’s main stock market got cuffed around Monday morning, as commodities slipped amid uncertainty about a tentative deal to resolve Greece’s debt crisis.
The S&P TSX Composite Index approached noon off 66.73 points, off its lows of the morning, at 12,399.77
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.33 cents to 99.52 cents U.S.
Among commodity producers, Suncor Energy Inc. fell 1.6% and Barrick Gold Corp. fell 1.2%.
Banks were also weak, with Royal Bank of Canada down 0.5% and Bank of Nova Scotia down 0.7%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange staggered 7.02 points to 1,621.90, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched forward 0.25 points to 412.51.
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups paused for lunch in the red. Metals and mining tilted lower by 3.1%, while global base metals fell 2% and materials slipped 1.2%.
The four gainers were led by information technology, picking up 0.8%, utilities, up 0.3%, and health-care issues, improving 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks tumbled early Monday, after the weekend came and went without Greek leaders reaching an agreement on a debt-relief deal.
The Dow Jones Industrials stumbled 76.14 points to 12,584.30
The S&P 500 sank 9.51 points to 1,306.82, while the tech-rich Nasdaq fell short of breakeven by 10.57 to 2,805.98
Financial stocks led the broad declines, with Bank of America the biggest decliner on the Dow.
Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs were all down between 1% and 2%.
Shares of Pep Boys popped more than 20% after the auto parts chain agreed to be taken private for $791 million U.S. by investment firm The Gores Group.
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 continued to swirl over a possible Facebook IPO after the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the filing could come as early as this Wednesday. The Global X Social Media ETF which includes Groupon, LinkedIn, Pandora and Zynga, moved higher.
Shares of Carnival Corp.-- owner of the ill fated Costa Concordia -- declined after the cruise ship operator updated its earnings outlook, saying it expected a decrease of 48 cents to 51 cents U.S. a share for the year.
Greek officials finished the weekend without a deal 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 gathered 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 1.82% from Friday’s 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery skidded 32 cents to $99.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $3.30 to $1,728.90 U.S. an ounce.
