Toronto's main stock index opened lower on Monday after weaker-than-expected U.S. non-farm payroll data on Friday weighed on sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 19.56 points to stumble out of the gate at 12,083.55
The Canadian dollar sagged 0.16 cents to 100.11 cents U.S.
Research In Motion Ltd. is losing two more senior executives, as the money-losing company embarks on a strategic overhaul that its new CEO says could result in its sale.
Elsewhere, Royal Bank of Canada fell 0.8% and Suncor Energy Inc. fell 1.1%. Gold producers showed some strength, though, with Barrick Gold Corp. up 1.4%.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 13.30 points to 1,467.74, while the Nasdaq Canada index slipped 2.56 points to 398.19
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were down to begin trading. Metals and mining dropped 1.3%, while financials and health-care fell 0.9% each.
The two stalwarts were gold, up 2.1%, and materials, ahead 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks sold off at the open Monday, as investors deal with the fallout from last week's disappointing jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrials collapsed 129.26 points, or 1%, to begin the day and the week at 12,930.90
The S&P 500 deducted 18.01 points to 1,380.07, and the Nasdaq reversed 31.69 points to 3,048.81
In addition, a higher-than-expected reading on inflation in China added to the worries.
The declines were broad, affecting all 30 names within the blue-chip Dow. Bank of America Corp. fell 3%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 2.2% and Caterpillar Inc. fell 2.5%.
AOL shares surged more than 40% Monday, after the company said it agreed to sell more than 800 patents to Microsoft for about $1 billion U.S. in cash.
Shares of aluminum producer Alcoa were down 1%, with worries about the materials sector looming ahead of the latest round of corporate results. Analysts are predicting a 14.5% drop in earnings for the sector, according to FactSet.
Alcoa will report after the closing bell on Tuesday, marking the unofficial start of earnings season.
AT&T shares eased after the company said Sunday that it had yet to reach a deal with its union on a new contract after the old one expired, but that workers would stay on the job while negotiations continue.
Sherwin-Williams raised its outlook for first quarter profits, sending the paint company's stock up 1%.
Shares of Apple were lower after analysts at BTIG downgraded the stock to neural, despite expectations for another quarter of strong profit growth.
Beauty company Avon Products announced Monday that it had named former Johnson & Johnson executive Sheri McCoy as its new CEO. The company was in the news last week after it rejected a $10-billion U.S. takeover bid from industry rival Coty Inc.
Economically speaking, on Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 120,000 jobs in March, following three straight monthly gains of 200,000 jobs or more, a trend that economists expected would continue.
The Chinese government reported Monday that inflation rose at an annual rate of 3.6% in March, higher than expected.
The report comes amid concerns over whether China will be able to ease back from the breakneck growth of recent years without experiencing a "hard landing."
In the evening, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech in Stone Mountain, Ga., on "fostering financial stability."
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury leaped, driving yields down to 2.04% from Thursday’s 2.18%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for May delivery retreated $1.72 to $101.59 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $16 to $1,644.90 U.S. an ounce.
