Commodities slump, TSX dives

Canadian stocks fell on Monday as concerns about Europe shifted some safe-haven funds out of commodities into other assets.

The S&P TSX Composite Index ended the day down 30.08 points to 12,436.42

The Canadian dollar finished off only 0.01 cents to 99.74 cents U.S., inching back toward parity.

Metals and mining stocks took a puncturing, as Ivanhoe Mines lost 4.5% to $16.29, and Teck Resources slumped 0.6% to $42.64

Materials also fell with most gold miners losing ground. Agnico-Eagle Mines ditched 3.8% to $37.74 and Kinross Gold Corp. declined 2.2% to $11.41, while Goldcorp slipped 0.9% to $48.78, and Barrick Gold stepped back 0.3% to $49.29

Gold's retreat comes as European leaders meet in Brussels to resolve the region's long-running debt crisis while the Greek government and creditors are locked in drawn out negotiations to write-down the value of Greece's debt.

Energy stocks such as Imperial Oil dipped 0.3% to $46.86, Suncor gave back 0.6% to $34.34, and Canadian Natural Resources fell 0.9% to $39.85.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange staggered 5.41 points to 1,623.51, while the Nasdaq Canada index crept into the green 0.81 points to 413.07.

The 14 Toronto subgroups were evenly split between gainers and losers Monday. Information technology went up the most, at 1.1%, while telecoms tallied 0.7% and health-care stocks were 0.4% more robust.

The seven laggards were weighed by metals and mining, down 2.6%, global base metals, off 1.5%, and materials, slumping 1.3%.

ON WALLSTREET

In New York, stocks recovered most of their lost ground Monday afternoon but struggled to pull out of the red as concerns over Greece continued to weigh on the market.

The Dow Jones Industrials fell shy of breakeven by 6.74 points to end the day at 12,653.70

The S&P 500 was in the red 3.31 points to 1,313.02, while the tech-rich Nasdaq doffed 4.61 points to 2,805.98

Stocks started the day down about 1% after the weekend came and went without Greek leaders reaching an agreement on a debt-relief deal. But as the trading session wore on, the major indexes trimmed most of those losses.

Financial stocks were among the worst performing stocks Monday, with Bank of America the biggest decliner on the Dow. Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs were all down between 1% and 2%.

Shares of Pep Boys popped more than 20% after the auto parts chain agreed to be taken private for $791 million U.S. by investment firm The Gores Group.

Wendy's shares fell after the fast-food chain reported earnings per share of one cent U.S., the same as the year-ago quarter.

Buzz continued to swirl over a possible Facebook IPO after the Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the filing could come as early as this Wednesday. The Global X Social Media ETF, which includes Groupon, LinkedIn, Pandora, and Zynga, moved higher.

Shares of Carnival Corp. -- owner of the ill-fated Costa Concordia -- declined after the cruise-ship operator updated its earnings outlook, saying it expected a decrease of 48 to 51 cents U.S. a share for the year.

Stocks pared their losses as investors hope that European Union leaders, gathered in Brussels for their first summit of the year, will announce good news following their meeting.

Prior to any formal statements, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told CNN that 25 of 27 European Union members have signed on to a fiscal compact aimed at strengthening budgetary discipline and deepening political ties to avoid a repeat European debt crisis. He noted that the Czech Republic cannot sign on yet (due to political obstacles), and U.K. Prime Minster David Cameron has already refused.

Investors are also looking for leaders to back a treaty to speed up implementation of the European Stability Mechanism, a move designed to strengthen the region's financial firewall.

Despite hopes for progress in Europe, investors remained concerned about the lack of an agreement in Greece. Greek officials finished the weekend without a deal with private-sector creditors. Without such a deal, the country jeopardizes its access to bailout funds and might not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment due March 20.

But difficult debt negotiations in Greece have revived concerns about a default, and investors are growing worried about Portugal, where borrowing costs continue to soar

On the economic beat, personal income ticked up 0.5% in December, while spending remained flat, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Meanwhile, the personal consumption expenditures price index -- a measure of inflation preferred by the Federal Reserve -- showed prices, excluding energy and food, rose 0.2% in December, up from a 0.1% gain in November.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note leaped, lowering yields to 1.84% from Friday's 1.90%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery skidded 71 cents to $98.85 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $1.00 to settle at $1,734.40 U.S. an ounce.