Canadian stocks sputtered after a solid start to Monday's trading session, dropping below the unchanged line in mid-day dealing.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day off 6.70 points to 11,947.13.
Energy stocks came well off their early highs, and significant weakness emerged in the heath care sector. Gold stocks were keeping Toronto's main index within hailing distance of the flat line.
Among energy shares, Suncor Energy lost 0.4% to $38.54 after its unit Petro-Canada and partners discovered an estimated seven- to 40 million cubic metres of oil near the Snorre field in the North Sea.
Goldcorp. Inc. rose 0.1% to $43.85 after rival Minera Penmont said it will not take any further action regarding its proposal to acquire the outstanding common shares of Canplats Resources. Canplats eased 0.4% to $4.75.
Nova Gold gained 3.4% to $7.07 after announcing that it had completed purchase of 100% of the Ambler property.
In economic news, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said country's housing starts edged up in December. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts reached 174,500 units from 164,800 units in November. On the other hand, Statistics Canada said overall Canadian building permits fell sharply by 4.6% in November.
Housing starts were expected to have risen to 160,000 from the prior reported estimate of 158,500.
The Canadian dollar gave back 0.45 cents to 96.74 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
Of the 14 TSX subgroups, all but four were positive to end the day. Metals and mining had the biggest gains, at 1.8%, followed by materials, ahead 0.8% and gold, up 0.7%.
The four losing groups were weighed by health-care, up 1.1%, energy, sliding 0.4% and financials, slipping 0.3%.
The TSX Venture Exchange still ended the day up 3.83 points to 1,608.93 while the Nasdaq Canada index lost 7.46 points to 722.97.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks were mixed late Monday as investors eyed a weak dollar, higher commodity prices and a selloff in technology ahead of the start of the quarterly reporting period, which begins after the close with Alcoa.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 45.80 points to end Monday at 10,663.99. The broader S&P 500 picked up two points to 1,146.98, while the tech-rich Nasdaq slid 4.76 points to 2,312.41.
The fourth-quarter reporting period gets underway Monday, when Dow component Alcoa reports results after the close of trade.
The aluminum maker is expected to have earned six cents U.S. a share, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by earnings tracker Thomson Reuters. Alcoa lost 28 cents U.S. per share a year ago.
Dow components Intel and JPMorgan Chase report results later this week.
S&P 500 earnings are expected to have jumped 213% in the fourth quarter of 2009, thanks to easy comparisons to the fourth quarter of 2008, the worst quarter in Thomson's history. A substantial improvement in financial sector results is expected to fuel the gains.
Heineken said Monday that it will buy the beer operations of Mexico's Femsa for about $7.6 billion U.S., including key export brands Dos Equis, Tecate and Sol.
McMoRan and Energy XXI shares jumped after the energy companies announced a key discovery at one of their oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tech decliners included Dow components IBM Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. Apple, Google and Advanced Micro Devices also slid.
Dow gainers included Coca-Cola, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and United Technologies.
Treasury prices rose, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.82% from 3.83% late Friday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil dropped 48 cents to $82.27 U.S.
Gold prices grew $13 to $1,152 an ounce U.S.
