European debt is once again moving the markets, which were trending downward at midday on Monday as investors reacted to Germany's cautious tone about how quickly the eurozone will be able to craft a solution to the crisis. At midday in Toronto the benchmark S&P/TSX composite index had slid about 135 points, or 1.12 per cent, to 11,946. Also weighing on the Toronto market was a report from Sun Life, which said Canada's third-largest insurer expects to post a net loss of $621 million in the third quarter. The price of crude oil fell 12 cents U.S. to $86.68 U.S. a barrel in electronic trading in New York at midday, while gold gained $2.00 U.S. to $1,685.00 U.S. an ounce. The Canadian dollar was down 47 basis points to 98.49 cents U.S.. In the U.S., a report showing manufacturing in the New York region contracted more than expected in October was weighing on investor sentiment. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 155 points, or 1.33 per cent, to 11,490 at midday, while the Nasdaq composite dropped 31 points, or 1.10 per cent, to 2,637. Asian markets advanced on Monday — Tokyo's Nikkei gained 1.5 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 2.01 per cent. European markets declined across the board. London's FTSE slid 0.5 per cent, the CAC in Paris dropped 1.61 per cent and Frankfurt's DAX lost 1.81 per cent.

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