Toronto stocks ended modestly lower on Monday, despite solid gains south of the border.

The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 9.81 points at 8,594.92. Toronto volume was 263.7 million shares.

Overall market momentum was negative with 682 issues declining and 621 advancing

Investors are looking ahead to an onslaught of corporate results this week, beginning with heavyweights Imperial Oil and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. on Tuesday.

Six of the TSX index’s 10 groups ended lower, with a 1.12% decline in the materials sector, which was weighed down by weak gold-mining and base metals stocks. The energy group fell 0.31%, while telecoms lost 1.23%.

Golds slipped 1.64%, drooping along with bullion prices as the U.S. dollar firmed against key currencies.

Barrick Gold fell 35¢ to $26.20, while junior gold miner Iamgold sagged 23¢ to $8.68.

In the materials group, Falconbridge shed $1.12 to $34.58.

The information technology sector jumped 2.23% and helped cushion the index’s fall, while the heavily weighted financial group ended up 0.23%.

Among techs, Research In Motion jumped $7.66 to $119.50, while Open Text gained $1.55 to $34.45.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 18.43 points to 1,796.04.

On Wall Street, U.S. stocks rose with the Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq Composite Index hitting highs not seen for more than 2-1/2 years.

In economic news, sales of existing U.S. homes rose by a much stronger than expected 6.9% in December taking the year to a record high.

The Dow rose 134.22 points to 10,702.51, its highest close since June 21, 2001. The S&P 500 added 13.82 points to 1,155.37, its highest close since March 19, 2002. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 29.96 points at 2,153.83, the highest closing level since June 29, 2002.

In other economic news, the United States is heading for a record deficit this fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Monday.

The non-partisan agency said the U.S. government will spend US$477 billion more than it takes in during fiscal 2004, which ends March 31. But the 2004 deficit will be a peak, falling to US$362 billion in 2005.

The Canadian dollar eased slightly versus the greenback on Monday as domestic wholesale trade figures came in slightly weaker than expected and U.S. data topped forecasts.

The Canadian dollar slipped to US76.09¢ from US76.16¢ at Friday’s close.