The Toronto Stock Exchange lost some ground early Monday as commodity prices declined and various global situations remained unresolved.
Shortly after the open, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 41.79 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 13,997.60.
Over the weekend, Canada's fourth federal election campaign in seven years kicked off. High radiation levels hampered efforts to repair nuclear reactors damaged in Japan's recent earthquake. NATO took steps to assume full command of a United Nations-backed mission to bomb military facilities in Libya that could be used to harm those seeking the overthrow of Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
Some of the economic news included a rise of 0.7 per cent in U.S. consumer spending last month, along with a 0.3 per cent gain in personal incomes. Spending was more than economists expected, while income fell short of forecasts.
Turning to commodities, crude oil was down $1.75 U.S. to $103.65 U.S. a barrel in New York. That followed insurgents in Libya recapturing a key oil port of Ras Lanuf. Gold was down $14.40 U.S. to $1,413.20 U.S. an ounce.
The Canadian dollar was up 42 basis points to $1.0228 cents U.S..
On U.S. stock markets, the Dow Jones industrial average was seeing a rise of 20.89 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 12,241.48 early Monday. The Nasdaq composite index was up 6.71 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 2,749.77.
The FTSE in the United Kingdom was up 10.77 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 5,911.53. France's CAC rose 7.34 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 3,979.72. In Germany, the DAX was up 0.28 point to 6,946.64.
On Asian stock markets, Japan's Nikkei index declined 57.6 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 9,478.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 90.48 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 23,068.19. Mainland China's Shanghai index was ahead 6.19 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 2,984.01.
On Friday, the TSX was up 10.02 points, or by 0.07 per cent, to 14,039.39. The Dow Jones rose 50.03 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 12,220.59, while the Nasdaq gained 6.64 points, 0.24 per cent, to 2,743.06.
