The Toronto stock index took a sharp turn downward on Monday, as investors turned hopeful that European policymakers are closer to taking action to counter worries about slowing growth and the region's debt crisis
The S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 88.62 points to begin the day and week at 11,272.58
The Canadian dollar traded lower by 0.11 to 96.10 cents U.S.
Among stocks to watch this morning, BCE Inc. has joined with a group of private equity fund managers to buy data center company Q9 Networks Inc for $1.1 billion.
Excellon Resources Inc said Chief Executive Jeremy Wyeth resigned from the company to pursue other interests.
No major Canadian economic data is scheduled for release
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dipped 11.15 points to 1,280.44. The Nasdaq Canada index slumped 1.63 points to 351.46
All 14 Toronto subgroups were negative to start out. Financial issues went south 1.1%, energy stocks trailed Friday’s close by 1%, and industrials were 0.9% to the bad.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks eased in early Monday trading, as worries about a global growth slowdown and uncertainty surrounding Europe's debt crisis persisted.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave back 10.9 points to begin trading at 12,107.67
The S&P 500 erased 2.14 points to 1,275.90. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index nipped ahead 3.4 points, however, to 2,750.88.
Shares of Facebook, which have gotten hammered since the company's IPO, edged slightly lower.
Groupon shares added 0.6% after dropping sharply Friday. The online discount service, which has been dogged with questions about its accounting practices since its initial public offering in November, ended its lock-up period Friday, meaning that insiders who own shares are now able to sell them.
Shares of AutoNation, the largest U.S. car dealership, jumped after it reported that its May new car sales rose 45%. That was almost twice as good as the 26% rise in industry wide U.S. car sales reported by major automakers Friday. But the industry wide sales pace was generally less than forecast as it came in at the weakest pace of 2012.
After markets were brutalized last week, investors have some reason to believe that European leaders might be willing to make tough choices to stave off larger problems in the region.
Anxieties over the health of the Spanish banking system and the possibility that Greece could soon exit the euro remain high.
There are also worries about slowing growth in emerging markets such as China and India. Recent reports out of China last week showed the manufacturing sector contracted more than expected in May.
Economically speaking, factory orders declined 0.6% in April. The report was weaker than the 0.1% increase expected by economists. The March decline was revised to a deeper 2.1% drop.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury finally sagged a bit, raising yields to 1.51% from Friday’s all-time low of 1.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil fell 35 cents early Monday to $82.86 U.S.
Gold futures for August delivery lost $2.60 to $1,614.60 U.S. an ounce.
