Canadian stocks slide on eurozone concerns

Canada's stock market moved slightly lower on Monday amid fears that new administrations in Italy and Greece are not able to implement the reforms required to boost their debt-stricken economies. The S&P/TSX Composite Index lost 52.66 points, or 0.43 percent, to 12224.19. The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index was down 2.79 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1638.52. Industrial production in the 17-country eurozone fell 2 percent in September from August, overshadowing hopes that new leaders in Italy and Greece could prevent their economies from collapsing and avoid default. Eight of the TSX's 10 main sectors were lower, led by the heavily weighted metals and mining sector, which fell 1.07 percent as gold and commodity prices dropped. The energy sector fell 0.66 percent as oil prices were hit by the EU's slowdown in production. Gains from the industrial sector, up to 0.04 percent, helped offset some losses. On the currency front, the Canadian dollar lost 0.51 cent to 0.984 U.S. dollar. At 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) on Monday, one U.S. dollar was buying 1.0163 Canadian dollars, compared with the 1.0112 Canadian dollars last Friday.