Toronto stocks ended lower Monday, as a declining energy sector acted as a weight on the broader market.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished down 63.36 points, or 0.58%, to 10,939.81

Volume on the senior exchange was 269 million shares.

Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down, with the energy group losing 2.50%

Crude for January delivery was down $1.35 at US$57.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. EnCana Corp. lost $1.70, or 3.16%, to $52.10.

Viking Energy Royalty Trust and Harvest Energy Trust have agreed to merge into the fourth-largest energy royalty trust in the country. Viking Energy lost 43¢, or 4.69%, to $8.73 and Harvest Energy lost $1.35, or 3.69%, to $35.25.

The combined trust would retain the Harvest name and have an initial enterprise value of more than $4 billion, the companies said.


The price of gold flirted near the US$500 an ounce level. The benchmark December contract closed out the session at US$498.30 an ounce.


Goldcorp Inc. said it is buying six million shares of Wolfden Resources Inc. for $21.6 million, raising its stake in the company to close to 10%. Goldcorp moved up 2¢, or 0.08%, to $25.05.

In other corporate news, Dofasco accepted an all-cash offer from German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp worth about $4.8 billion, surpassing a bid from Arcelor by nearly 10%. Dofasco shares moved up $4.86, or 8.22%, to $63.98.

Vincor International Inc. rejected an improved offer of $35 a share from Constellation Brands Inc. Vincor gained 55¢, or 1.61%, to $34.65.

The Canadian dollar finished up 0.11 cent at US85.62 cents as the federal Liberal government faced defeat in a non-confidence vote later this evening.

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished down 14.56, or 0.71, or 2,050.11.

In New York, a report indicating sales of existing homes had declined in October plus news that pharmaceutical company Merck was cutting jobs and closing plants put downward pressure on the markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 46.35 points, or 0.42%, at 10,885.27. The S&P 500 was down 10.54 points, or 0.83%, at 1,257.71. The Nasdaq composite index fell 22.76 points, or 1.01%, at 2,240.25.