A renewed drop in oil prices due to worries about a global supply glut on Monday hurt North American and European stock markets and weighed on the dollar following a rebound in those sectors late last week.
The S&P/TSX composite index plummeted 246.42 points or 2%, to close Monday at 12,143.16
The Canadian dollar slid 0.71 cents to 70.08 cents U.S.
Suncor Energy Inc declined $1.39, or 4.4%, to $29.94, and Canadian Natural Resources fell $1.16, or 4.5% to $24.90. Penn West Petroleum Ltd was down a dime, or 10%, to 90 cents.
Financial stocks in the S&P/TSX index got bruised. Tricon Capital Group Inc. sank 37 cents, or 4.3%, to $8.27, and Genworth MI Canada Inc. erased $1.13, or 4.7% to $22.90. The group has lost almost 7% since the start of the year.
Royal Bank of Canada fell $2.31, or 3.3%, to $67.03, and Toronto-Dominion Bank declined $1.50, or 2.9% to $50.18. Manulife Financial Corp lost 50 cents, or 2.7%, to $18.21.
A rise of 5.5% – or $6.93 -- by Valeant Pharamaceuticals International Inc. led health-care stocks to increase, however slightly. Valeant wrapped up business Monday at $132.37.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slumbered 1.06 points to 482.61.
All but three of the 13 TSX subgroups dwindled on the day, as energy backtracked 5.1%, metals and mining stocks faded 4.5%, and consumer discretionaries slumped 2.1%.
The three gainers were gold, shining brighter 3.4%, consumer staples, better by 0.3%, and health-care, haler by 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks closed sharply lower Monday, weighed by a renewed decline in oil prices, as investors awaited key inputs on the pace of economic growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average moved south 208.29 points, or 1.3%, to 16,885.22.
The S&P 500 dipped 29.56 points, or 1.6%, to 1,877.34. Energy closed down 4.5% as the greatest laggard in the S&P, followed by a more than 3% decline in materials.
The NASDAQ index erased 72.69 points, or 1.6%, to 4,518.49.
Caterpillar closed down 5% as one of the greatest contributors to declines on the Dow. Goldman Sachs downgraded the heavy equipment maker's stock to "sell" from "neutral" on expectations of lower returns on capital amid lower global infrastructure investment.
Goldman Sachs traded more than 2.5% lower to also weigh on the Dow despite an upgrade to buy from neutral and price target increase by Nomura Securities.
McDonald's contributed the most to gains in the Dow. The stock held about 1.5% higher after briefly jumping 2.5% in morning trade to top $121.00 U.S. a share and hit a record high in intraday trade.
The firm said global same-restaurant sales rose a better-than-expected 5%, helped by the launch of all-day breakfasts in the United States and recovering demand in China. U.S. sales increased 5.7%.
Halliburton reported earnings seven cents above estimates on revenue slightly below forecasts, but the oilfield services giant was able to benefit from cost cuts amid falling oil prices. The stock reversed initial gains to hold about 2% lower in afternoon trade.
D.R. Horton posted earnings that topped expectations, with revenue also above estimates. Sales orders were up 9% from a year earlier, with the value of those orders rising by 12%. The stock fell more than 4% in afternoon trade.
Shares of Kimberly-Clark declined more than 2.5% in afternoon trade after the firm reported quarterly results that missed slightly on both earnings and revenue, noting impact from unfavorable foreign currency trends. Organic sales did rise by 5%.
More than 100 S&P 500 firms are due to report this week. Major tech firms set to announce quarterly results in the next few days include Apple, Facebook, Amazon.com and Microsoft.
In other corporate news, Johnson Controls said it would merge with Ireland-based fire protection and security systems maker Tyco International. Shares of Johnson Controls held about 1% lower, while Tyco jumped more than 10% in midday trade.
Shares of Sprint declined 4% in afternoon trade after reports the firm will cut 2,500 jobs as part of a $2.5-billion U.S. cost savings plan.
No major economic data was expected Monday. The Dallas Fed January manufacturing production index came in at negative 10.2 versus 12.7 in December. The business activity index was minus 34.6 versus minus 21.6 the previous month.
Consumer confidence is due Tuesday, ahead of consumer sentiment and fourth-quarter GDP on Friday.
Also in focus is the Federal Reserve meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the Bank of Japan's meeting later in the week.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury grew slightly, lowering yields to 2.01% from Friday’s 2.06%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped $2.18 a barrel to $30.01 U.S.
Gold prices recovered $10.35 to $1,108.30 U.S. an ounce.
