Canadian stocks were lingering in the red Monday morning after registering smart gains last week as the Federal Reserve embarked on a third round of quantitative easing and promised to keep interest at rock-bottom rates until mid-2015.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 21.02 points or 0.17 percent to 12,478.45, after adding nearly 300 points or over 2 percent in the past four sessions.
The Diversified Materials Index was the major lower, shedding close to 2 percent. Inmet Mining (IMN.TO) and Teck Resources (TCK_B.TO) were down close to 3 percent each. First Quantum Minerals (FM.TO) was down 1 percent.
The price of crude oil extending gains Monday morning as traders await further cues from this week's economic data. Crude for October added $0.34 to $99.34 a barrel.
In the oil patch, Paramount Resources (POU.TO) was down close to 3 percent.
The price of gold was hovering around its seven-month high Monday morning as the US dollar continued to trade weak on QE3 announcements. Gold for December slipped $1.50 to $1,771.20 an ounce.
Among gold plays, Royal Gold (RGL.TO) and Agnico-Eagle Mines (AEM.TO) were down about 2 percent each.
Hardware retailer RONA (RON.TO) lost over 7 percent after Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) formally withdrawn its $1.80 billion acquisition proposal.
Real estate investment trust Cominar Real Estate Investment Trust (CUF_UN.TO) slipped 0.25 percent after announcing that it has closed the acquisition of a portfolio of 68 properties in Montréal, Québec City and Ottawa from GE Capital Real Estate's Canadian equity platform comprising a total of 4.3 million square feet.
Meanwhile, bio-pharmaceutical company Cangene Corp. (CNJ.TO ) rose close to 4 percent after announcing that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cangene Plasma Resources, Inc. would sell three of its U.S. based plasma centers to Spanish company, Grifols.
Full-service investment dealer Canaccord Financial Inc. (CF.TO) announce that it has appointed Peter O'Malley as Chief Executive Officer or CEO of Canaccord Genuity Asia. The stock edged up 0.40 percent.
In economic news, Statistics Canada said non-resident investors acquired $6.7 billion of Canadian securities in July, following a $7.8 billion divestment in June. Meanwhile, Canadian investment in foreign securities strengthened to $4.6 billion and was equally split between debt and equity securities.
From the U.S., the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said its general business conditions index fell to a negative 10.41 in September from a negative 5.85 in August, with a negative reading indicating a contraction in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had been expecting the index to climb to a negative 2.0.
Elsewhere, the euro zone trade surplus rose to EUR 15.6 billion in July from EUR 13.6 billion in June, Eurostat said. In July 2011, the trade surplus totaled EUR 2.1 billion. Exports dropped 2 percent month-on-month in July after rising 2.4 percent in June. Likewise, imports fell 1.2 percent, reversing last month's 0.7 percent rise.
by RTT Staff Writer
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