The Toronto Stock Exchange followed international stock markets in a broad-based sell-off on Monday as economic data from abroad fell short of expectations and sparked new concerns about the pace of an economic recovery.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 316.42 points, or 2.9% to close at 10,531.59.

The materials group plunged 4.3% as commodity prices sunk lower.

Shares of Agrium Inc. plummeted $2.55, or 4.8%, to $50.70, and Potash Corp. finished down 4.5% at $100.71.

Gold mining stocks also took a hit on Monday as gold futures retreated. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery finished down US$12.70 at US$934.30 an ounce. The sub-gold index on the TSX finished down 3.7%.

Goldcorp Inc. finished at $37.70, down 3.4%, and First Quantum Minerals Ltd. tumbled 5.1% to $65.47.

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. dropped $1.13, or 3%, to $36.27.

The energy group fell 3.3% as oil futures dipped lower. Crude for September delivery fell 76 cents to end at US$66.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Suncor Energy Inc. dropped $1.43, or 4%, to $34.41.

Units of Petrobank Energy and Resources fell 3.1% to $34.89 and Nexen Inc. plunged 5.3% to $22.15.

EnCana Corp.’s stock finished at $55.04, down $1.52, or 2.7%.

Financial stocks finished down 2.6% on Monday, with hefty losses in shares of the big banks.

Bank of Montreal fell 2.9% to $49.82 and Bank of Nova Scotia finished down 2.6% to $43.67.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada retreated by $1.26, or 2.5%, to end at $50.10.

Also lower was Manulife Financial Corp., down 3.4% to $21.57.

Meanwhile, declines among junior stocks dragged the junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index down by 33.6 points, or 2.8%, to 1,159.82.

The Canadian dollar retreated by nearly two-thirds of a cent to close at US90.32¢.

Major stock market indexes in New York finished with hefty losses of their own on Monday, as fears about a lagging economic recovery eroded investor confidence.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 186.06 points, or 2%, to end at 9,135.34.

The S&P 500 index dropped 24.36 points, or 2.4%, to close at 979.73.

The Nasdaq composite index declined 54.68 points, or 2.8%, to finish at 1,930.84.

IE