Canadian stocks slipped on Monday, led lower by heavyweight energy, mining and banking shares as the rise of separatism in Spain and uncertainty over aid for debt-burdened Greece as policymakers met yet again to reach a deal cast a cloud over sentiment.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 39.79 points to greet noon at 12,173.45
The Canadian dollar skidded 0.19 cents to 100.54 cents U.S.
Barrick Gold Corp fell 1.4% to $34.70 and Goldcorp Inc was off 0.7% at $40.49.
Cenovus Energy Inc shed 1.6% to $32.90 and Suncor Energy lost 0.5% to $33.27.
Also weighing on the market was the announcement that Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney will leave that role to head the Bank of England next year.
SNC-Lavalin Group Inc shares slipped 3.2% to $40.20. A former executive of the construction company has been indicted in Switzerland on allegations he laundered money, according to media reports.
Private equity firm Onex Corp slipped 1.1% after it said it will buy U.S.-based insurance broker USI for $2.3 billion.
No economic data is due out today.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumped 33.50 points to 1,225.75
All 14 Toronto subgroups were lower by lunch hour. Metals and mining stocks dipped 1.6%, gold slipped 1% and materials faltered 0.8%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks declined Monday as investors kept one eye on the results of the start of the holiday shopping season, and the other on upcoming economic negotiations in Washington and Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrials tanked 96.18 points to 12,913.50
The S&P 500 moved 7.99 points lower to 1,401.16, and the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 4.80 points to 2,962.05.
Shares of Knight Capital jumped after a report late Friday in the Wall Street Journal said the trading firm is weighing the sale of its market-making business, the unit whose August trading glitch cost the company more than $400 million U.S.
Research in Motion shares gained ground, as investors are hopeful the BlackBerry 10, debuting Jan. 30, will signal a turnaround for the company. A bullish analyst report triggered a rally Friday, with the stock rising 14%.
Facebook shares spiked after an analyst upgraded the stock to outperform. Yahoo shares also rose after an upgrade from Goldman Sachs.
Shares of McGraw-Hill increased after the company, which owns Standard and Poor's, announced that it is selling its education arm, McGraw-Hill Education, to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $2.5 billion U.S.
No major economic or corporate reports are being handed down, so investors will be looking for signs of an economic recovery in retail sales. On Sunday, the National Retail Federation reported that the Black Friday weekend brought in a record $59.1 billion U.S. in sales, up 13% from last year.
Investors were also looking again at the fiscal cliff. Congress is back in session, and lawmakers will be under pressure to reach a deal with the White House before the end of the year.
Treasury prices gained ground, lowering yields to 1.64% from Friday’s 1.68%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 77 cents to $87.51 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices let go of two dollars an ounce to $1,749.80 U.S.
