Equities in Toronto fell to a three-week low on Monday as lower commodity prices weighed on energy and mining issues, while financials also fell.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slumbered 144.81 points, or 1.1%, to greet noon at 13,556.66
The Canadian dollar was negative 0.5 cents to 76.97 cents U.S.
The most influential movers on the index on Monday included Barrick Gold which fell 4.4% to $22.78, and Goldcorp, which declined 3.3% to $23.96.
Spot gold fell, while copper hit its lowest point in nearly a month as weak trade data from top consumer China highlighted poor demand growth prospects and the dollar rose after a Fed official kept rate hike expectations intact.
Suncor Energy Inc, which cut production last week due to the wildfire, fell 2.5% to $33.00.
Financials fell, including a 0.6% drop in the shares of Royal Bank of Canada to $75.62.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said it expected to file its first-quarter report with U.S. and Canadian regulators on or before June 10, ahead of a July 31 deadline, and reiterated its first-quarter forecasts. Its shares edged up 0.3% to $38.69.
On the economic slate, there was disappointment, as housing starts fell by more than expected in April from a month earlier.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts fell to 191,512 units in April from a downwardly-revised 202,375 units in March.
Forecasters had expected 195,000 starts.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange lost 9.84 points to 659.10
Nine of the 13 TSX subgroups were down, as metals and mining moved earthward 10.1%, while gold slid 5.5%, materials were down 4.5%
The four gainers were led by real-estate, up 0.6%, while telecoms and consumer discretionaries each improved 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks traded mostly lower Monday, amid declining oil prices, as gains in health care offset pressure from energy and materials.
The Dow Jones Industrials scrambled lower 35.3 points to 17,705.33. Caterpillar and Chevron contributed the most to declines in the Dow
The S&P 500 gained 0.06 points to 2,057.2. Health care traded more than 1% higher to lead most S&P 500 sectors higher, while energy fell more than 2% as the greatest laggard
The NASDAQ Composite Index remained buoyant 21.84 points to 4,758
Allergan and Mallinckrodt led health care advancers with gains of more than 6% and 5%, respectively, in late-morning trade.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury gained, lowering yields to 1.76% from Friday’s 1.78%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices slid $1.19 a barrel to $43.47 U.S.
Gold prices dumped $24.42 to $1,264.57 U.S. an ounce.
