The Toronto stock market was little changed Monday as bullion prices and stocks declined further after Iran and world powers arrived at an agreement about Iran's nuclear program on the weekend.
The deal will allow Iran to keep the central elements of its uranium program while calling for it reduce enrichment to a level lower than what is needed for nuclear arms.
The S&P/TSX composite index slid 6.12 points to close at 13,472.22
The Canadian dollar faded 0.19 cents to 94.77 cents U.S.
The TSX gold sector was down as Goldcorp faded 10 cents to $24.21.
The energy sector also pressured the TSX. The deal with Tehran announced on the weekend raises the possibility that a more comprehensive agreement would eventually allow Iran to restore oil production to pre-sanctions levels.
That could add one million barrels of oil a day to world markets, which would be enough to meet the entire global growth in demand for 2014 projected by the International Energy Agency.
Suncor Energy gave back 72 cents to $37.24.
The base metals sector shed some strength with December copper up a penny at $3.22 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources lost 43 cents to $26.07.
Industrials led advancers as Canadian Pacific Railway improved by $2.07 to $161.11.
Consumer staples stocks were largely positive. Shares in Canadian cheese giant Saputo were six cents higher to $48.60 after the company sweetened its bid for Australia's oldest dairy processor.
The company is offering A$9.20 per share if it acquires a majority of Warrnambool Cheese and Butter shares, which adds 20 cents per share to its unconditional offer and bests offers from two local rivals.
In other corporate news, auto parts maker Martinrea International was a major TSX decliner, down 77 cents, or 8.4%, to $8.43. The slide followed a 13% drop Friday, when it crossed below its 200-day moving average, an important technical indicator.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 2.89 points Monday to 929.26
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, nine ended Monday negative, as metals and mining issues trudged 1.1% lower, energy faltered 0.9% and global base metals fell 0.3%.
Utilities and telecoms were co-leaders of the five gainers, each picking up 0.5%, while industrials took on 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The NASDAQ briefly topped 4,000 early Monday for the first time since September 2000, while the Dow Jones Industrials hit an all-time high once again.
The Dow Jones Industrials added 7.77 points from Friday’s all-time high, to close at 16,072.50
The S&P 500 index deducted 2.26 points to 1,802.50. The NASDAQ moved higher 2.92 points to 3,994.57
The tech-heavy NASDAQ is still well below its peak of above 5,000, which was set in March 2000.
In company news, Wal-Mart announced that current CEO of Wal-Mart International Doug McMillon will replace CEO Mike Duke, who plans to retire early next year. Shares rose and hit an all-time high.
Apple bought the Israeli tech company PrimeSense, a leading developer of 3D sensors. Apple's stock was up about 1%.
Yahoo announced that Katie Couric will join the company early next year as its "global anchor."
Social media stocks were trading lower, a sign that the hot sector may be losing momentum.
Shares of Yelp, which have more than tripled this year, were down almost 8%.Facebook shares, which have more than doubled so far in 2013, slid 4%.
Twitter, which just debuted on the stock market earlier this month, tumbled more than 5%. LinkedIn, Groupon and Pandora were also all down sharply. That put pressure on the Global X Social Media Index ETF
But investors continued to buy stocks Monday thanks to enthusiasm about a landmark deal reached between Iran and the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany over the weekend.
As part of the agreement, international powers will relax economic sanctions against Iran in exchange for a promise that the country scales back its nuclear program. Oil prices sank on the expectation of more oil exports from Iran following the nuclear deal.
Besides the Iran deal, there weren't many other news items moving markets. Trading volume is expected to be low during this holiday-shortened week and there are few economic and earnings reports on tap.
U.S. markets will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and will shut at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.
Prices for 10-year U.S. Treasuries moved ahead, lowering yields to 2.74% from Friday’s 2.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 67 cents to $94.17 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gathered $5.20 to $1,249.30 U.S. an ounce.
