Canadian shares retreated for a fourth session on Monday, led by the index's three heavyweights -- financials, energy and materials.
The Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX) fell 0.9% to 13,436.56 at 2:41 p.m. in Toronto. Two shares declined for every issue that advanced as six out of the ten share groups were in negative territory.
The energy sector, the main index's second most heavily weighted group, fell 1.0% as oil, Canada’s largest export, edged lower.
Suncor Energy (TSE:SU), Canada's biggest energy company, declined 1.4% to C$38.93. Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ), the country's largest heavy-oil producer, decreased 2.4% to C$32.87.
December West Texas Intermediate crude inched down 0.7% to $44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The materials sub-index, which includes mining shares, rose 0.7% as gold ticked up after an eight-day losing streak.
Goldcorp (TSE:G), Canada’s largest gold miner by market value, advanced 3.2% to C$15.82. Barrick Gold (TSE:ABX), Canada’s second-largest gold miner, advanced 3.6% to C$9.72.
Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,093.51 an ounce on short covering.
Financials, the index's most heavily weighted sector, slipped 1.3%. Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), which has the heaviest weighting in the index, retreated 1.5% to C$75.55. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD), the second-largest bank by market value, slipped 1.1% to C$54.14.
In economic news, Canadian housing starts slid in October from a strong level in September, suggesting a long-awaited slowdown in homebuilding may have begun, a report from the national housing agency showed.