Canadian stocks fell a third day, the longest stretch of losses in three weeks, as the nation’s largest banks declined and energy producers retreated.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 78.01 points to close Monday at 13,795.99
The Canadian dollar slid 0.11 cents to 78.83 cents U.S.
Canadian Natural Resources fell 51 cents, or 1.3%, to $38.17, and Crescent Point Energy dropped 68 cents, or 3.2%, to $21.12 as energy producers retreated as a group.
Toronto-Dominion Bank retreated 52 cents to $55.67, and Bank of Nova Scotia fell 36 cents to $64.93, to lead lenders lower.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. gave back 72 cents, or 1.6%, to $44.85. Valeant has named Perrigo Co.’s former Chief Executive Officer Joseph Papa as its new CEO and chairman, set to start in early May.
Papa replaces Michael Pearson, who presided over a steep climb and faster fall as the drug maker has come under scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators over its business practices.
Bombardier Inc. rose nine cents, or 5.3%, to $1.80, returning toward an October high, with the aircraft manufacturer in negotiations about a deal with a prospective new airline serving the tourist island of Qeshm in southern Iran.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange finished lower 4.27 points Monday to 651.91
All but two of the 13 TSX subgroups sank Monday, metals and mining doffing 1.9%, energy down 1.6%, and industrials off 1.1%.
The two gainers were real-estate, up 0.8%, while consumer discretionary issues inched 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. equities closed slightly lower Monday with energy leading decliners and defensive sectors among the leaders, ahead of major central bank meetings and earnings due later in the week.
The Dow Jones Industrials recovered from triple-digit negative readings, climbing to within 26.51 points of breakeven to 17,977.24.
Goldman Sachs and Caterpillar contributed the most to declines, while McDonald's was the top contributor to gains.
The S&P 500 lost 7.13 points to 2,084.45. Consumer staples and telecoms were the S&P 500 leaders in afternoon trade.
The NASDAQ Composite Index fell 10.44 points to 4,895.79, posting its first three-day losing streak since early February. The index is 6.2% below its 52-week intraday high and still in negative territory for the year so far.
Apple is scheduled to post quarterly results after the close Tuesday. Other earnings due in the next few days include Boeing, Facebook and Amazon.com. The U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan both meet later in the week.
Before Monday's open, Xerox posted earnings that missed and cut its full-year earnings forecast due partly to expenses related to its planned breakup. Revenue beat expectations but still fell 4.2%, hurt by a strong dollar and lower sales of printers and copiers.
Private-equity firm KKR reported its second loss in quarterly earnings in less than a year as volatile financial markets dragged on the value of its investments.
Halliburton said it cut 6,000 jobs in the first quarter. The oilfield services giant delayed its earnings report from Monday morning to next month as it works on clearing regulatory hurdles for its planned merger with rival Baker Hughes.
Shares of Microsoft and Alphabet held slightly higher in afternoon trade Monday after plunging more than 5% Friday.
New home sales in March fell 1.5% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 511,000.
The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee is widely expected not to move on interest rates at its meeting scheduled for this Tuesday and Wednesday, but investors will analyze the statement for indications on the potential for a hike at the June meeting.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury slumped a bit, raising yields to 1.91% from Friday’s 1.89%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded 94 cents a barrel to $42.79 U.S.
Gold prices surged $4.41 to $1,237.44 U.S. an ounce.
