Canadian shares sank on Monday as energy producers and miners slid sharply with the slump of commodity prices.
The resource-heavy benchmark Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) fell 1.6% to 13,169.42 at 12:05 p.m. in Toronto.
Eleven shares declined for every issue that advanced as nine out of ten share groups were in negative territory.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, was the largest laggard with a 3.8% decline as gold dropped 1.5% and Platinum tumbled 3%.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, retreated 4.1% to C$17.05, expanding this year’s slump to 21%. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), Canada’s second-largest gold miner, slipped 2.6% to C$8.52.
Spot gold fell 1.5% to a session low of $1,127.70 an ounce, its biggest fall in 3 weeks. Platinum fell to a 6-1/2 year low of $916.50 an ounce.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, skidded 1.7% as oil, Canada’s largest export, fell more than 2% on Monday.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's largest oil sands producer, inched down 1.1% to C$34.69.
Canadian Natural Resources Limited (TSE:CNQ), Canada’s second-largest energy producer, edged down 1.2% to C$25.89.
Brent fell $1.15 to $47.45 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was down $1 at $44.70, after a session low at $44.51.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, surrendered 1.1%. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, tanked 1.1% to C$71.10. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, lost 0.8% to C$51.23.