The Toronto stock market was dropping sharply in early Monday trading as oil prices pull back.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index docked 105.35 points to open Monday at 11,330.19
The Canadian dollar was down 0.36 to 96.98 cents U.S.
Among stocks to watch this morning, Thomson Reuters Corp said it has acquired privately held Zawya Ltd, an online service supplying business information in the Middle East and North Africa.
Precious metals producer Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. said it would evaluate strategic options for a silver and gold mine in Argentina due to high operating costs, and will recognize a charge in the second quarter.
Property manager FirstService Corp. said a subsidiary opted out from a property services agreement with a United States government-backed entity as the business turned unprofitable.
The Canadian government will probably have to impose new rules on railways such as CN and CP and their customers, after four months of negotiations failed to find a formula to get grain shippers and other customers the service levels they demand
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 14.34 points to 1,191.69. The Nasdaq Canada index declined 7.90 points to 356.26
All but two of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower to begin the day and the week. Metals and mining collapsed 2.6%, while global base metals fell 2.3%, and energy lost 2%.
The two stalwarts were gold, up 0.7%, and materials, ahead 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stocks fell early Monday, with shares of major banks leading the decline.
The Dow Jones Industrials descended 164.35 points to 12,476.43
The S&P 500 swooned 21.16 points, to 1,313.80. The Nasdaq Composite Index demurred 51.88 points to 2,840.54
Bank stocks JPMorgan and Bank of America were the worst performers on the Dow. Wal-Mart was the only gainer on the index as investors gravitated towards defensive stocks, such as consumer staples.
Shares of New Jersey.-based Watson Pharmaceuticals rose on news that U.S. drug regulators gave it permission to produce generic forms of Adderall XR. Until now, Ireland's Shire has been the only producer of the drug, administered to those diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Shares of JC Penny fell 5% amid ongoing worries about the retailer's management. Last week, the company announced that its president was stepping down after less than nine months on the job.
Chesapeake faced continued speculation that the natural gas producer is a takeover target. Shares were down 5%.
All eyes will be firmly fixed on Europe this week, which culminates with a key two-day E.U. summit starting Thursday. Hope is running high for leaders to put together a concrete plan. But expectations are low.
Moody's is preparing to downgrade the credit rating of several Spanish banks, according to Reuters. Shares of Santander and BBVA, the two largest Spanish banks, were both down about 5%.
Early Monday, Spain formally requested aid for its banking sector, as expected.
Economically speaking, new home sales for May rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate 369,000, according to government data. Sales were expected to come in at 350,000, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com, up from 343,000 in the prior month.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 1.62% from 1.67% late Friday.
Oil for August delivery fell $1.06 to $78.70 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $4.40 to $1,571.30 U.S. an ounce.
