Canada's main stock market in Toronto lost ground Monday as lower oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while financial sector and industrial stocks also retreated as investor attention turned to the U.S. Federal Reserve interest rate meeting this week.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index shed 78.01 points, or 0.56 percent, to close at 13, 795.99 points. All of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were lower.

Oil prices decreased Monday as data showed the inventory at a key storage base for U.S. crude climbed sharply. The West Texas Intermediate for June delivery moved down 1.09 dollars to settle at 42.64 dollars a barrel, while Brent crude for June delivery decreased 63 cents to close at 44.48 dollars a barrel.

TSX energy stocks fell 1.54 percent, including a 1.32 percent decline in shares for Canadian Natural Resources to 38.17 Canadian dollars (about 30.09 U.S. dollars) apiece and a 6.06 percent loss in Baytex Energy Corp. shares to 6.20 Canadian dollars apiece.

Shares of Precision Drilling Corp. fell 5.50 percent to 5.67 Canadian dollars. The rig contractor posted a first-quarter loss, compared with a profit a year earlier, hurt by lower demand for rigs amid a prolonged slump in oil prices.

Metals & mining group lost 1.73 percent, as Nevsun Resources Ltd. decreased 10.21 percent to 4.22 Canadian dollars while Lithium Americas Corp. lost 6.02 percent to 0.78 Canadian dollar.

Bank stocks went down as Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 0.93 percent to 55.67 Canadian dollars a share, while Bank of Nova Scotia was down 0.55 percent at 64.93 Canadian dollars a share.

Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International dropped 1.58 percent to 44.85 Canadian dollars apiece. Valeant has named Perrigo Co.'s former CEO Joseph Papa as its new CEO and chairman, set to start in early May.

Among industrials, Bombardier rallied 5.26 percent to 1.80 Canadian dollars a share, returning toward an October high, with the aircraft manufacturer in negotiations about a deal with a prospective new airline serving the tourist island of Qeshm in southern Iran.

However, Bombardier has radically cut the number of streetcars it is promising to deliver to Toronto this year, the latest of a series of delays that left the Toronto Transit Commission boss "outraged."

Meanwhile, the National Energy Board of Canada has granted conditional approval to a massive Enbridge pipeline that would enable more Canadian crude to flow into the United States.

A higher-profile cross-border project -- TransCanada's Keystone XL proposal -- was rejected by the Obama administration in November on the grounds it would undermine U.S. efforts to combat climate change without delivering significant economic benefits.

The Canadian dollar traded fractionally lower at 0.7883 U.S. dollar, compared with Friday's closing rate of 0.7892 U.S. dollar.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by Xinhua News Agency

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