By Malcolm Morrison, The Canadian Press
TORONTO – The Toronto stock market is sharply lower at the open amid falling commodity prices and another round of worry centred on the eurozone.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 98.45 points to 12,670.38 as traders took some profits from respectable gains in January. The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 100.27 cents US.
Spain is generating concern as the government is increasingly embroiled in a corruption scandal. On the weekend, prime minister Mariano Rajoy denied allegations that he and members of his party accepted secret payments. The developments sent Spanish bond yields higher.
U.S. indexes were negative ahead of the December read on factory orders, with the Dow Jones industrials down 92.88 points at 13,916.91. The Nasdaq composite index fell 17.34 points to 3,161.76 and the S&P 500 index declined 8.84 points to 1,504.33.
Economists expect factory orders to have increased 2.4 per cent from November.
The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost $1.58 to US$96.19 a barrel.