Canadian stocks extended losses on Monday following a long weekend as weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data triggered worries about the resilience of the economic recovery.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index had fallen 84.61 points to close the day at 12,018.50
The Canadian dollar regained 0.09 cents’ worth of strength to 100.36 cents U.S.
Shares of Manulife Financial Corp. tumbled 3% to $12.74, and Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan lost 2% to $44.00. Also on the move, Agrium Inc. skidded 1.2% to $85.73, and Royal Bank of Canada lost 0.6% to $56.60.
A decline in oil prices further burdened sentiment in Toronto. Among energy issues, Imperial Oil shares headed back 0.2% to $43.70, while Suncor retreated 0.3% to $30.37 and Canadian Natural Resources faded 0.2% to $31.70.
In the gold sector -- one of the few sectors actually gaining ground -- Barrick Gold Corp. shares picked up 0.6% to $40.77, while Goldcorp. Shares gained 0.7% to $40.89, and Kinross Gold advanced 0.7% to $9.21.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange fell 32.39 points to 1,448.65, while the Nasdaq Canada index slipped 1.81 points to 398.94
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained down on the day. Metals and mining dropped 1.8%, while energy issues shed 1%, and industrials fell 0.8%.
The two lone gainers were gold, up 0.6%, and utilities, up 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks sold off Monday, the first trading day following a disappointing jobs report last week.
The Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 130.55 points, or 1%, to end the session at 12,929.60
The S&P 500 deducted 15.90 points to 1,382.18, and the Nasdaq reversed 33.42 points to close at 3,047.08.
The companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report combined earnings growth of less than 1% for the first quarter, according to research from S&P Capital IQ.
Stocks are still up sharply for the year and many analysts say the market was poised for a pullback.
Despite the overall retreat, AOL shares surged 48% Monday, after the company said it agreed to sell more than 800 patents to Microsoft for about $1 billion U.S. in cash.
In other tech news, Facebook agreed to buy photo network Instagram for $1 billion U.S. in cash and stock.
Shares of aluminum producer Alcoa eased on 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.
The banking sector was under pressure, with Bank of America, JPMorgan and Citibank down sharply.
Investors will get an update on the health of the financial sector later this week when JPMorgan and Wells Fargo report quarterly results Friday.
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 higher.
Analysts at BTIG downgraded shares of Apple to neutral, despite expectations for another quarter of strong profit growth. The stock edged higher in afternoon trading.
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 98 cents to $102.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $14 to $1,642.50 U.S. an ounce.
