The Toronto stock market shifted sharply lower in early trading Monday as crude oil prices fell and concern about the European economy came to the forefront again.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index docked 129.25 points, or 1.1%, to approach noon Monday at 11,306.29
The Canadian dollar was down 0.27 to 97.07 cents U.S.
The TSX ended last week down about 0.8% while the Dow was off about 1%.
The decline was spread across nearly every sector, led by metals and mining stocks, as Ivanhoe Mines was off 31 cents to $9.74.
Another round of North American economic data is lined up for this week.
In Canada, real GDP for April, due Friday, is expected to show a continuation of the sluggish economy that characterized the first quarter, with consensus forecasts pointing to a 0.2% increase over the previous month.
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 remained lower midday. Information technology shares sank 2.9%, while global base metals and their cousins in the metals and mining sector each dropped 2.8%.
The two gainers were gold, up 1.5%, and materials, ahead 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell Monday as investors lowered their expectations for a key summit of European Union leaders later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials descended 152.80 points, or 1.2%, off their lows of the morning, to 12,487.98
The S&P 500 swooned 22.69 points, to 1,312.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index demurred 54.95 points to 2,837.47
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 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 Energy faced continued speculation that the natural gas producer is a takeover target.
All eyes will be firmly fixed on Europe this week, which culminates with a key two-day European Union 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 1.61% from 1.67% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for August delivery fell $1.42 to $78.33 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery rose $4.40 to $1,571.30 U.S. an ounce.
