Equities in Toronto continued negative on Monday as lower oil prices weighed on energy issues, offsetting a jump in the shares of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc on news of the company's acquisition by BCE Inc.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index plunged 109.32 points Monday to greet noon at 13,842.13
The Canadian dollar gained 0.09 cents to 79.75 cents U.S.
The index ended 3.4% higher for April, and has rebounded 20% from an almost 3-1/2-year low in January, though the 14,000-point level remains elusive.
The most influential movers on the index included Suncor Energy, which fell 2.4% to $35.94, and Canadian Natural Resources, which declined 1.5% to $37.10.
Goldcorp fell 2.1% to $24.74, while Barrick Gold was down 0.5% at $24.16.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International fell more than 10% to $37.59.
Telecom and media company BCE said it would buy Manitoba Telecom Services Inc for about $3.1 billion to expand in the province. Manitoba Telecom jumped 15.7% to $38.00, while BCE was up 0.2% at $58.97.
Shares of Air Canada rose 5.4% to $9.83. It follows a 12.7% advance on Friday after the company reported a first-quarter profit compared with a loss a year earlier, helped by a decline in fuel costs.
Economically speaking, the RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index registered 52.2 in April, up slightly from 51.5 in March and above the neutral 50.0 threshold for the second month running.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange inched forward 0.09 points to 674.96
Among the 13 TSX subgroups, eight were lower, as health-care moved downward 3.6%, energy went south 3.1%, and metals and mining weakened 1.3%
The five gainers were led by telecoms, up 4%, consumer staples, up 0.7%, and utilities garnered 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly higher Monday, the first trading day of the month, with consumer discretionary and financials leading advancers.
The Dow Jones Industrials were off their highs of the morning, but still positive 53.56 points to 17,827.20, with Goldman Sachs leading advancers and Apple the greatest laggard.
The S&P 500 remained up 5.82 points to 2,071.12, with consumer discretionary and financials leading advancers.
The NASDAQ Composite Index stayed afloat 7.36 points to 4,782.72.
Apple extended recent declines to weigh on the NASDAQ. The NASDAQ posted its first seven-day losing streak Friday since an eight-day losing streak ended Jan. 11.
Shares of Apple held about 1% lower in morning trade, tracking for its first eight-day losing streak since 1998. The stock lost about 14% in April, its worst month since January 2013.
A 7% decline in shares of Chinese internet giant Baidu also weighed on the NASDAQ in midday trade.
On the economic front, the final Markit U.S. manufacturing PMI fell to 50.8 in April from 51.5 in March.
ISM manufacturing for April was 50.8, down from 51.8 in March. Construction spending for March rose 0.3%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury faded, raising yields to 1.86% from Friday’s 1.83%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices slipped 69 cents a barrel to $45.23 U.S.
Gold prices slid 19 cents to $1,293.34 U.S. an ounce.
