Weakness in commodities led to a hefty plunge for the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday that saw nine of the 10 main groups finish in the red.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 302.47 points, or 3.5%, to finish the day at 8,249.53.

Leading the losses was the energy group, which dropped 6% after oil tumbled lower. Crude for February delivery, the new front-month contract, ended down US$2.45, or 5.8%, at US$39.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Suncor Energy Inc. shares plummeted $2.85, or 11.4%, to $22.14 and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. shares fell 4.9% to $42.68.

Husky Energy Inc. dropped 7.7% to $27.69 and Talisman Energy Inc. dipped 5.2% to end the day at $11.00.

The heavyweight materials group shed 5.1%, and suffering even more damage was the diversified metals group, down 7.7%.

This was despite a boost for gold futures. Gold for February delivery closed up US$9.80, or 1.2%, at US$847.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gains added to an advance of 2.1% that gold futures witnessed last week.

The sub-gold index fell 2.9%.

Barrick Gold Corp. shares fell 2% to $39.65 and Yamana Gold Inc. fell 7.1% to $7.85.

Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd. moved lower by $3.70, or 6.4%, to end at $54.30.

Also down sharply was First Quantum Minerals Ltd., down 8.5% to $17.40.

Fertilizer companies also took a hit, with Agrium Inc. down $2.13, or 5.6%, to $35.95, and Potash Corp. down a steep $9.33, or 10.5%, to $79.33.

The financials group slipped 2.1% as losses for some stocks outweighed gains among others.

Power Financial Corp. shares dropped 6.9% to $20.65 and shares of TMX Group Inc. fell 4.9% to $24.52.

Toronto-Dominion Bank shares fell 2.3% to $41.20 and Royal Bank of Canada shares slipped 1.7% to $33.90.

Meanwhile, shares of National Bank of Canada rallied 3.6% on news that an agreement had been reached on a deal to restructure the market for asset-backed commercial paper. National Bank shares closed at $29.90.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. saw its shares fall 6.2% to $50.03 after Certicom Corp. announced it was advising its shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid from RIM. Certicom also announced that it was applying for an injunction preventing RIM from taking over the company for the offer price of $1.50 a share, which Certicom calls “significantly undervalued.”

Certicom shares gained 4.7% to finish at $1.80 on the TSX.

Healthcare companies comprised the only group on the TSX to post gains on Monday. The group advanced 0.3%, led by an 8.2% boost for shares of MDS Inc., which closed at $6.72.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index ended the day in the red, down 7 points, or 1%, at 692.02.

The Canadian dollar gained a quarter of a cent against the greenback, closing at US82.03¢.

In New York, the main indexes rebounded from deeper losses that they experienced earlier in the day, but still finished the day in negative territory.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished at 8,519.93, down 59.42 points, or 0.7%.

The blue-chip declines were led by General Motors Corp., which fell 21.6% to finish at US$3.52 on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Nasdaq composite index dipped 31.97 points, or 2%, to 1,532.35.

The S&P 500 index slid 16.25 points, or 1.8%, to 871.63.

IE