Canadian stocks declined for a fifth day as raw material producers and banks fell on renewed European debt concerns and speculation China may raise interest rates to curb inflation.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed Monday down 27.18 points, to 13,245.12
The Canadian dollar was flat to 100.66 cents U.S.
Teck Resources declined 2.3% to $60.50, as material stocks in the equity benchmark fell 0.4 percent on concern China, the largest consumer of raw materials, will take steps to curb inflation. China’s central bank should consider a series of interest rate increases of 50 basis points if the country’s consumer prices remain high in the first half of this year.
Royal Bank of Canada sank 0.6% to $51.69 as an index of financial companies in the S&P/TSX slid. Bank of Nova Scotia declined 0.6% to $55.92.
Oil prices rallied for the first time in three days, after an Alaskan pipeline carrying about 15% of U.S. crude output was shut following a leak. Canadian Natural Resources climbed 2.5% to $41.60, the most since Dec. 13.
Agrium Inc., North America’s third-largest fertilizer maker by market value, was cut to "hold" from "buy" at Toronto- Dominion Bank by analyst Paul D’Amico. The stock declined 1.3% to $90.17. Rival Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. fell 0.7% to $164.73.
Mining company HudBay Minerals Inc. agreed to acquire Norsemont Mining Inc. for $4.50 a share in cash or as much as $4.65 in HudBay stock and cash. HudBay shares slid 3.3% to $16.21, while Norsemont rallied 5.2% to $4.49.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved ahead 8.01 points to 2,233.40, while the Nasdaq Canada index inched up 2.25 points to 771.
In Toronto, all but three of the 14 subgroups were lower by midday. Metals and mining sank 1%, while health-care issues tailed off 0.9% and financials stepped back 0.5%.
Gold moved ahead a respectable 0.8%, real-estate moved up 0.01%. Utilities were flat Monday.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks came off morning lows but still ended mostly lower Monday following a sell-off in European markets, as investors worried about a possible bailout for Portugal.
The Dow Jones Industrials shed 37.31 points to 11,637.50.
The S&P 500 remained lower by 1.75 points to 1,269.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index fought its way higher by 4.63 points to 2,707.80.
Concerns over European debt problems resurfaced as Germany, France and other eurozone countries pressured Portugal to take a bailout to ease its massive debt crisis.
On Friday, stocks dropped after a court ruled against Wells Fargo and U.S. Bancorp in a foreclosure case. The ruling sparked a selloff in bank stocks that rippled through the broader market.
The government's latest reading on the labor market also dragged markets lower. The U.S. economy added slightly fewer jobs in December than expected, but the unemployment rate edged lower than economists had anticipated.
That disappointment over the jobs number may continue to trickle into trading this week, according to some experts.
Shares of Sara Lee jumped 3.7% on reports that Apollo Global Management and other private equity firms are looking into acquiring the food company.
Chemical maker DuPont said Sunday it will buy Danisco, a Danish enzyme and food ingredients company, for $5.8 billion U.S. in cash. Shares of DuPont slipped 1.8%.
Shares of Progress Energy were down 2.5% after Duke Energy said it will buy the fellow power company for $13.7 billion U.S. in stock. Shares of Duke Energy fell 1.9%.
Shares of Standard Microsystems dropped 10% after the chip maker announced it is buying rival Conexant for $284 million U.S. Conexant's stock jumped 15%.
Playboy's stock surged 17% after founder Hugh Hefner signed an agreement to take his publicly traded company private. Hefner, who already owns a substantial amount of the adult magazine publisher's shares, has entered an agreement with Icon Acquisition Holdings to pay $6.15 U.S. per share for the portion of Playboy Enterprises that he does not own.
Shares of Strayer Education sank 23% after the for-profit college said winter new student enrollment dropped 20% from a year ago. For-profit education stocks including Devry, Washington Post and Apollo Group were the biggest losers in the S&P 500.
Shares of General Motors edged lower after the plug-in Chevrolet Volt was named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show.
Meanwhile, shares of Ford were up 1% after Ford Explorer was voted Truck of the Year, and the automaker announced it will add more than 7,000 new hourly and salaried jobs in the United States over the next two years.
After the markets closed, Alcoa released its quarterly results, the first of the Dow components to report its fourth-quarter figures. The aluminum maker is expected to announce earnings per share of 19 cents U.S., according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. Shares were up 0.6% near the close Monday.
No major economic reports were passed down Monday.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury ran up, lowering the yield to 3.30% from Friday’s 3.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for February delivery gained 94 cents to $89.32 U.S. a barrel
Gold futures for February delivery rose $5.20 to settle at $1,374.10 U.S. an ounce.
