The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market closed lower Monday, snapping a long string of gains as the market was weighed down by energy stocks even as oil closed above US$80 a barrel.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 74.54 points to 11,634.75 as investors took a pause ahead of a big slate of economic data and earnings news this week.

The negative showing came after eight straight days of gains that sent the main index up more than 5% on signs of a strengthening U.S. economy and higher commodity prices.

“(The market) certainly has a good tone despite all the problems out there that are going on in Greece and potentially other countries,” said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall and MacTier, referring to the sovereign debt crisis that has unnerved investors in recent weeks.

“Earnings are doing very well here and I guess all the signs point to further earnings improvement.”

The Canadian dollar slipped 0.2 of a cent to US95.91¢.

The TSX energy sector was the leading decliner, losing 1.02% as oil prices established a toehold above the US$80 a barrel mark. The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which expired Monday, gained 25 cents to US$80.16 a barrel. The more active April contract also rose 25 cents to US$80.31. EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA) fell 92 cents to C$33.87.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) said its production of synthetic crude oil and bitumen in February and March will be below the company’s Feb. 2 guidance due to repairs required at a fire-damaged upgrader. The upgrader is expected to be operational again in April. Suncor shares were down 38¢ at $31.55.

Investors also took in a major piece of dealmaking over the weekend in the energy sector. Schlumberger Ltd. is buying rival oilfield-services provider Smith International Inc. in a stock deal worth about US$11.34 billion. Smith shares climbed $3.33 to US$41.03 and Schlumberger shares declined $2.33 to US$61.57.

The April gold contract on the Nymex was $9 lower to US$1,113.10 an ounce and the gold sector moved down 1.05%. Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) declined 93¢ to C$40.07.

The telecom sector lent support, up 0.27% with Telus Corp. (TSX:T) ahead 32¢ to $33.82.

The base metals sector advanced 0.21%, even as the March copper contract in New York dipped 5¢ to US$3.30 a pound. First Quantum Minerals (TSX:FM) gained $2.23 to C$81.15 while HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) gave back 22¢ to C$13.56.

Earnings and economic data will continue to provide traders with insight into the U.S. economy throughout the week.

In Canada, CIBC and National Bank will kick off the quarterly earnings reporting season for the big Canadian banks. Both banks issue quarterly reports on Thursday and analysts are looking for a positive quarter.

“I think capital markets should surprise on the upside,” Nakamoto said. “Loan losses I think, are contained (and) loan growth, primarily on the residential mortgage side, is probably pretty robust here.”

Ahead of those earnings, the TSX financial sector was down 0.52% as Royal Bank (TSX:RY) lost 49¢ to $56.60 while Manulife Financial (TSX:MFC) trimmed 17¢ to $19.48.

In the United States, retailers are in focus this week. On Monday, home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. reported fourth-quarter profit rose 27%. But its earnings forecast for the prime spring quarter was below analyst expectations and its shares were 6¢ lower at US$23.07.

Elsewhere in the sector, Canadian home renovations leader Rona Inc. (TSX:RON) is entering the specialized plumbing market in Quebec with the acquisition of distributor and retailer Plomberie Payette & Perreault Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Its shares were off 18¢ to $15.22.

An updated estimate on U.S. economic output for the fourth quarter is also scheduled for release this week. The gross domestic product report, due out Friday, is expected to show that the American economy grew at a pace of 5.6% in the final three months of 2009.

An initial reading of GDP showed growth of 5.7%.

Also, the latest reading on consumer confidence from the U.S. Conference Board will be released on Tuesday.

The TSX Venture Exchange moved down 3.43 points to 1,528.47.

New York’s Dow Jones industrials edged 18.97 points lower to 10,383.38. The Nasdaq composite index lost 1.84 points to 2,242.03 while the S&P 500 index closed down 1.16 points at 1,108.01.

Investors will also focus on testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday and Thursday.

@page_break@In particular, they will be interested to hear what Bernanke says about last week’s decision by the Fed to raise its discount rate — the amount banks pay for emergency loans — by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75%.

In other corporate news, Open Text Corp. (TSX:OTC) has offered to buy Montreal-based digital content manager Nstein Technologies Inc. (TSXV:EIN) for $35 million. Nstein’s board supports the offer of 65¢ per share, payable in cash or shares, which is a 91% premium to the Friday closing price for the stock. Open Text shares gained 94¢ to $50.16 while Nstein shares soared 30¢ or 88.24% to 64¢.

Canadian transponder maker Sirit Inc. (TSX:SI) said it has received a higher takeover offer from Federal Signal Corp. (NYSE:FSS), which is now offering 43¢ per share cash — up from the initial offer of 30¢ per share. The new offer values Sirit’s outstanding shares at about $69.3 million. Sirit shares rose 12.5¢ to 42.5¢.