The Toronto stock market was lower on Monday near midday amid concerns about a controversial new levy on bank deposits by the Mediterranean island nation of Cyprus, which has unsettled financial markets around the globe.
The S&P TSX index was down 15.92 points – off its lows of the morning -- to greet noon ET at 12,814.11
The Canadian dollar picked up 0.15 cents to 97.92 cents U.S.
Copper took a significant hit from the concerns in Europe, with the May contract losing 8.8 cents to $3.43 U.S. to pound.
Gold stocks were one of the sole climbers, as China Gold Resources gained 4.6% to $3.87. Golden Star Resources shot up 3.6% to $1.73.
In corporate developments, Bombardier Transportation is denying a European newspaper report that it faces large penalties for the late delivery of 59 double-decker inter-city trains ordered in 2010 by Swiss Federal Railways.
The publication Der Sonntag, quoting unidentified sources, said Bombardier faces at least $487 million U.S. (460 million Swiss francs) in penalties for delivering the trains two years late. Bombardier shares were down 2% to $4.19.
Metals stocks took it on chin, primarily Taseko Mines, off 2.9% to $2.98. In the energy field, Petrobank Energy and Resources slid 5.3% to 71 cents.
Speaking of things economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that non-residents acquired $13.3 billion of Canadian securities in January, most of them corporate debt instruments. Meanwhile, Canadian investors reduced their holdings of foreign securities by $1.2 billion, ending a four-month string of increases.
ON BAYSTREET
he TSX Venture Exchange subsided 3.16 points to 1,113.99.
All but four of the 14 Toronto subgroups remained lower, weighed by the energy and metals and mining groups, each off 0.5%, while real-estate slid 0.4%.
The four gainers were gold, up 0.9%, health-care, ahead 0.5%, while materials and consumer staples raised themselves 0.2% each.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks fell Monday, after a bailout agreement reached over the weekend in Cyprus raised fears about financial contagion in other parts of Europe.
The Dow Jones Industrials remained negative 9.83 points to 14,504.30, also off their lows of the morning.
The S&P 500 index was 3.51 points short of breakeven to 1,557.19. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite moved down 3.77 points to 3,245.30.
In the U.S., shares of Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase fell amid general turmoil in the banking sector.
Chesapeake Energy shares bounced back from an earlier decline after the company was downgraded on valuation concerns. Chesapeake said late Friday that it would continue its attempt to buy back $1.3 billion U.S. of its bonds.
Shares of Carnival Corp. slide 2%, after the cruise line issued a weak sales forecast for the year on Friday. The company has had a string of mechanical issues over the last several weeks.
Constellation Brands shares rallied after the Justice Department agreed late last week to give Anheuser-Busch InBev and Modelo Group more time to negotiate the terms of their merger
The European Union unveiled a €10-billion plan early Saturday to rescue Cyprus' outsized banking sector and avoid a default. Though the bailout is relatively small, the EU has required a one-time tax of 6.75% on bank deposits of less than €100,000 and 9.9% for those over that amount.
Cypriots rushed to ATMs as the country tried to win parliament support for the plan. While euro-zone leaders stressed that Cyprus is a unique case, investors worry that depositors in other financially weak European nations might face similar bailout plans in the future.
Early Monday, Cypriot leaders said a vote on the plan has been delayed until Tuesday.
Bank stocks slumped around the globe. National Bank of Greece, Banco Santander and Barclays were all sharply lower.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury spiked, lowering yields to 1.96% from Friday’s 2%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped nine cents to $93.36 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $12.20 to $1,604.80 U.S. an ounce.
