Gold producers and consumer staples could not help Toronto's main index out of its dungeon Monday afternoon, as selling in technology and base metal sectors overtook gains in the former groups.
The S&P TSX Composite Index backslid 64.87 points to end the day at 11,504.74
Stocks have struggled for direction since the start of the session, amid fluctuating oil prices and lack of fresh cues from the economic front.
Barrick Gold rose 4.5% to $45.90 and Kinross Gold gained 2% to $18.22 as safe-haven buying in the midst of concerns about European fiscal stability pushed bullion prices higher.
Premier Gold Mines gathered 1.7% to $4.80. The gold explorer announced plans to acquire U.S.-based Saddle Gold for nearly $36 million in stocks and cash.
Crystallex International slid three cents to 52 cents. The Toronto-based gold explorer revealed signing a partnership agreement with a subsidiary of Chinese state-owned company China Railway Engineering Corporation for developing its principal asset, the Las Cristinas gold project in Venezuela.
The consumer staples sector added strength, with convenience store retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard up 0.9% to $19.40 and grocery chain Loblaw Companies up 2.2% to $39.57.
Among base metal stocks, First Quantum Minerals surrendered 5% to $51.73 and Thompson Creek Metals lost 5.8% at $8.81.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion shed 5.1% to $60.04, dragging the IT sector down.
Suncor Energy eased 1.9% to $31.83 and Husky Energy gave in 2.3% to $25.45.
Early in the day, the greenback had touched a fresh four-year high versus the euro.
01 Communique Laboratory added 2.8% to 18.5 cents. The communications software company said its second-quarter loss narrowed to $320,753 from last year's $331,502.
With a very light economic calendar, traders might focus on the movements in the commodities and currency markets to get clues during the day.
The Canadian dollar was fairly flat at 94.29 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but four of the 14 TSX subgroups were lower. Metals and mining stocks tripped 4.1%, while global base metals fell 2.3% and industrials staggered 2.1%.
Gold led the four gainers, picking up 3.5%, while materials were 1.5% better and consumer staples improved 1.1%.
The TSX Venture Exchange settled 11.69 points to 1,453.23, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved 23.92 points lower to 650.18.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks slumped Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 ending at seven-month lows, after the euro hit a fresh four-year low, adding to worries about the global economy.
The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 115.48 points, or 1.2%, to finish at 9,816.49, the lowest close since Nov. 4, 2009.
The S&P 500 index subtracted 14.41 points to 1,050.47, and closed at its lowest point since Nov. 4. The Nasdaq composite index moved back 45.27 points to 2,173.90, and closed at its lowest point since Feb. 11.
Stocks seesawed through the morning before turning resoundingly lower in the afternoon. News that BP is capturing some of the flow of the oil leak seemed to put an early bid under the market. But any enthusiasm disappeared as the session wore on.
The euro continued to drop Monday, trading at $1.1955 U.S. after touching a four-year low of $1.188. The dollar fell 0.2% against the yen.
Weakness in the euro tends to be seen as a proxy for worries about the European debt crisis and its impact on the global economy. Worries that the United States could be in danger of falling into a so-called double-dip recession have plagued markets for the last month, sending the major stock indexes down by more than 10% each.
The biggest losers were in tech, banking, transportation, retail and housing.
Stocks had been primed for a higher open after BP said its current effort to stem the flow of oil from a leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico was working. The company said it collected 10,500 barrels of oil Saturday, and 16,600 barrels between Thursday and Saturday. The well is gushing at least 19,000 barrels a day.
After jumping in pre-market trade, BP stock traded with slim gains in the morning and flattened out in the afternoon. However, a number of other energy shares rose, including Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
The rise in select energy shares helped temper the selling in the broad market, as energy is one of the biggest components of the S&P 500.
Chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4 Monday at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The newest version of the phone has around 100 new features, including a higher-resolution screen and a more industrial look.
Jobs was also expected to announce updates to Apple's Safari Web browser, iTunes, new Macs and a new Macintosh operating system. Nonetheless, Apple shares lost 2%, falling with the rest of the market.
In deal news, Spain's Grifols, a maker of blood-plasma products, said it is buying U.S.-based rival Talecris Biotherapeutics for about $3.4 billion U.S. The deal gives Grifols roughly one-third of the U.S. market. Shares of Talecris rose 25%.
Economically speaking, on Monday evening, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will answer questions about the economy at an event in Washington.
Treasury prices inched better, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 3.18% from Friday’s 3.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil eased 48 cents to $71.03 U.S.
Gold prices jumped $25 to $1,243 U.S. an ounce
