Toronto flat on Greek worries

The Toronto stock market finished slightly negative Monday, wallowing below breakeven much of the day, while commodity prices backed off after negotiations over the weekend failed to yield an agreement that would save Greece from bankruptcy.

The S&P TSX Composite Index ended the week's first session off 17.43 points to 12,559.85

The Canadian dollar ducked back 0.08 cents at 100.44 cents U.S.

Monday, the base metals sector lost ground as March copper slipped three cents to $3.87 U.S. a pound. Teck Resources gave back 90 cents to $42.50.

The energy sector slipped as Canadian Natural Resources declined 53 cents to $40.31, while rival Imperial Oil dipped 28 cents to $47.09.

The tech sector was also a weight with Research In Motion Ltd. down 27 cents to $16.51.

The industrials sector slid while Canadian Pacific gained 94 cents to $74.41 as the railway's biggest shareholder, Pershing Square Capital, was in Toronto to get fellow shareholders on board with its plan to turn the company around.

On hand will be the man Pershing Square wants to install as CP's new CEO, the highly regarded Hunter Harrison, the former boss of rival Canadian National Railway Ltd. CN stock faded 83 cents to $77.08

The gold sector demurred, even as Barrick Gold Corp. added 27 cents to $48.86, while rival Goldcorp inched up three cents to $47.28

Elsewhere on the corporate front, Canadian airlines say they saw record passenger load factors for January. WestJet said its traffic improved to 79.9%, compared to 77.8% in the year-earlier.

Air Canada said its load factor was 79.1%, up from 78%. Porter Airlines reported its load factor grew four points to 55.7%. Air Canada shares rose four cents to $1.40 while WestJet slipped 25 cents to $13.34.

Pulp producer Fibrek Inc. says an analysis by an independent firm estimates the value of the company to be between $162.6 million and $188.6 million. That is above the hostile bid of $130 million made by Resolute Forest Products, formerly AbitibiBowater. Fibrek shares rose six cents to $1.09.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 0.89 points to 1,664.22, while the Nasdaq Canada index dropped 4.02 points to 424.61

All but three of the 14 Toronto subgroups were off on the day. Metals and mining subsided 1.5%, while information technology eased 1%, and global base metals fell back 0.7%.

The three gainers were led by consumer discretionaries, up 0.4%, while utilities and financials inched up 0.2% each.

ON WALLSTREET

In New York, stocks slipped, as investors anxiously await a Greek government decision on budget cuts that are considered the keys to securing a second bailout and avoiding default.

The Dow Jones Industrials shed 17.10 points by the close Monday to 12,845.10, albeit an improvement over the lows to which it had dipped throughout the session.

The S&P 500 gave back 0.65 points to 1,344.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq subtracted 3.67 points to 2,901.99

For most of 2012, investors have largely ignored problems in Europe, pushing up all three indexes.

The Dow ended last week at its highest level since May 2008, while the Nasdaq -- up more than 11% for the year -- finished at its highest level since December 2000. U.S. stocks rallied Friday, following a much larger-than-expected increase in hiring and a surprise drop in the unemployment rate.

Shares of Alpha Natural Resources moved up more than 2%. The company announced late Friday that it will reduce coal production by four million tons due to weakening demand.

Over the weekend, Micron Technologies appointed Mark Durcan to lead the company after CEO and chairman Steve Appleton died Friday in a small-plane crash in Boise, Idaho. Durcan, who will also be the director of Micron's board, previously served as chief operating officer and chief technical officer. Shares of the company fell nearly 2%.

Meanwhile, investors will continue to keep an eye on quarterly corporate results.

Hasbro's fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts by a penny a share. Although sales fell short, shares of the toy and board game maker climbed more than 2%.

Humana's fourth-quarter profit rose from a year earlier, and the health insurer provided an upbeat guidance, but shares dropped nearly 5%.

Coinstar, the parent of video rental company Redbox, announced that it formed a joint venture with Verizon to compete against rival Netflix. Coinstar will report fourth-quarter earnings after Monday's closing bell. Both Coinstar and Netflix's shares edged up more than 1%. Verizon's shares moved up 0.5%.

Yum! Brands, owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, is also on tap to post results later in the day.

After failing to strike a deal over the weekend, political leaders in Greece are set to resume talks Monday.

They're trying to reach a deal on austerity measures and financial reforms necessary for a €145-billion bailout package from the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.

Without the bailout money, the risk is that Greece will miss a €14.5-billion bond redemption in March. That could lead to a disorderly default, a development that would likely have severe consequences for the global financial system.

Treasury prices for the 10-year note were higher, driving yields down to 1.90% from Friday's 1.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Oil for February delivery slipped 61 cents to $97.23 U.S. a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $15.90 to $1,722.00 U.S. an ounce.