Canadian stocks edge down as US markets shut for holiday

Canada's main stock market in Toronto posted a minor loss Monday amid low trading volume and a lack of direction from the U.S. markets which were closed for the Memorial Day holiday.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark Standard & Poor's/TSX Composite Index shed 18.56 point, or 0.13 percent, to close at 14,086.67 points. Half of the TSX index's eight main sub-sectors were lower.

The market sentiment was under pressure as oil seesawed and gold fell to a three-and-a-half-month low, while financials firmed ahead of a potential increase in US interest rates this summer.

Metals and mining led the decliners by losing 1.18 percent. Barrick Gold Corporation went down 0.55 percent to 21.55 Canadian dollars (16.51 U.S. dollars) per share, Yamana Gold Inc. lost 2.02 percent to 5.33 Canadian dollars, while Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. dropped 7.07 percent to 0.92 Canadian dollar.

Suncor Energy's facilities north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, are expected to partially restart by the end of the week, the company said on Sunday, the latest sign that Canadian oil sands producers are coming back online after a massive wildfire.

Suncor's shares rose 0.25 percent to 35.99 Canadian dollars, while Enbridge Inc. fell 1.17 percent to 52.16 Canadian dollars.

Financials stocks retreated from earlier gainings including a 0.08 percent loss for Bank of Nova Scotia to 64.95 Canadian dollars.

Telecommunications stocks advanced 0.21 percent, as BCE Inc. climbed 0.41 percent to 60.73 Canadian dollars while Rogers Communications Inc. increased 0.28 percent to 50.75 Canadian dollars.

On the economic front, Statistics Canada said its industrial product price index declined 0.5 percent in April, led by lower prices for motorized and recreational vehicles, while higher prices for energy and petroleum products helped moderate the fall.

The agency's raw materials price index increased 0.7 percent, during the same month, led by higher prices for crude energy products.

Meanwhile, Canada has fallen to 10th place in the latest rankings of global business competitiveness by the Swiss-based IMD World Competitiveness Center, its lowest finish in several years.

The drop comes as the downturn in commodity prices hits the Canadian economy hard. The IMD says weak performance by the domestic economy hurt Canada's overall ranking.

The Canadian dollar traded lower at 0.7662 U.S. dollar, compared with Friday's closing rate of 0.7670 U.S. dollar.