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Mar. 22, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) --
Canadian stocks continued to linger in the red in mid-morning deals Monday, with major weaknesses seen among base metals, energy and gold stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index approached midday behind by 28.87 points to 11,919.11. Renewed concerns over the Greece debt-situations and falling commodities prices weighed on investor sentiment. Germany's chancellor said Sunday that a plan for Greece won't be discussed at a European summit this week. Also, the Bank of Greece said Monday that it expects the nation's GDP to sink 2%, putting further pressure on the euro, which continued to slip versus the dollar. Among base metals stocks, Major Drilling was down 4.67% and First Quantum Minerals gave in 2.70%. Meanwhile, mineral explorer Ivanhoe Mines edged up 0.18% after it said it has issued 15 million common shares to Rio Tinto at $16.31 per share, for total proceeds of $241.1 million. With this Rio Tinto has increased its ownership in Ivanhoe to 22.4% from 19.6%. The Energy Index slipped 0.86%, with Celtic Exploration surrendering 4.62% and Pacific Rubiales shedding 3.16%. Among gold stocks, Goldcorp was down 1.60% and Agnico Eagle Mines moved down 1.57%. Gold mining company Mundoro Capital dwindled 28.80% after it posted full year net loss of $0.12 per share, wider than $0.03 per share in the prior year period. Bio pharmaceutical company Helix BioPharma slipped 6.91%. The company said it has achieved last-patient-out in its Phase II trial of Topical Interferon Alpha-2b for the treatment of ano-genital warts. Merchant banking company Pinetree Capital was down 2.25% after it announced the acquisition of 1.5 million common shares and 1.5 million common share purchase warrants of Kirrin Resources Inc. Meanwhile, health-care stocks were edging up, with SXC Health Solution gaining 1.13% and Biovail Corp adding 1.43%. With no major economic news on tap today, movements in the prices of commodities will likely to guide trading on resource-heavy Bay Street. The Canadian dollar was down 0.32 cents to 97.98 cents U.S. ON BAYSTREET Eight of the TSX subgroups were lower by noon. Metals and mining stocks slid 1.2%, while gold fell 0.9% and materials stumbled 0.8%. Of the half-dozen gainers, health-care issues soared 1.6%, while real-estate moved ahead 0.7% and utilities gained 0.4%. The TSX Venture Exchange retreated 14.29 points to 1,559.77. The Nasdaq Canada index gained 1.54 points to 787.76. ON WALLSTREET In New York, stocks gained, erasing an early decline, as drugmakers rallied after the U.S. House of Representatives passed an overhaul of the industry. The Dow Jones industrial average moved 27.49 points by noon to 10,769.42. The S&P 500 index was up 2.89 to 1,162.79, while the tech-rich Nasdaq shot up 12.59 points, to 2,387. Merck & Co. and Pfizer Inc. climbed more than 1.7% each to help lead health-care companies to the biggest gain among 10 groups in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index after the House approved legislation that will ensure tens of millions of uninsured Americans will get medical coverage. Boeing Co. advanced more than 2% to lead gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on analyst upgrades. U.S. stocks retreated at the start of trading amid concern growing government deficits around the world and rising interest rates will derail the global economy. Advanced economies face "acute" challenges in tackling high public debt, and unwinding existing stimulus measures won't come close to bringing deficits back to prudent levels, according to some experts. The Reserve Bank of India raised its benchmark rates after local financial markets closed on March 19, a month earlier than the next scheduled review, to tame the fastest inflation in more than a year. Policy makers in Australia and Malaysia have also increased rates since the end of February, while China has ordered lenders to set aside more funds as reserves. Health-care stocks jumped more than 1.1% as a group and contributed to more than 40% of the S&P 500's move, according to Bloomberg data. Tenet Healthcare Corp. had the biggest gain in the S&P 500, surging 6% to $6.10 U.S. Pfizer and Merck rose at least 1.8%. House Democrats approved a Senate bill passed in December and then voted 220-211 to pass a measure that would amend the Senate legislation to fix provisions they don't like. The Senate must also pass this second bill. The two bills together will cost $940 billion U.S. over 10 years and cover 32 million uninsured Americans, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. Medtronic Inc. rose 2.8% to $46.05 U.S. The biggest maker of heart-rhythm devices won a U.S. panel's backing on March 19 to introduce the nation's first heart pacemaker designed to be used safely by patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging exams. Boeing Co. rose the most in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, gaining 2.3% to $72.37. The world's second- largest commercial airplane maker was raised to "outperform" at Oppenheimer & Co. and Cowen & Co. GameStop Corp. jumped 3.3% to $21.80 U.S. The largest U.S. video-game retailer may rise to $30 U.S. during the next year as growth in its used video-game business boosts profit, Barron's reported yesterday, citing Ross Margolies of Stelliam Investment Management in New York. Genuine Parts Co. rose 3.4% to $43.03 U.S. The operator of NAPA auto-parts stores was raised to "buy" from "neutral" by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Novell Inc. advanced 3.6% to $5.84 U.S. The maker of Linux operating-system software said yesterday a $5.75 U.S.-a-share acquisition offer from Elliott Associates LP is "inadequate" and undervalues the company. The price of the benchmark 10-year note gained slightly, lowering its yield to 3.66% from Friday's 3.69%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions. The price of a barrel of oil subsided 21 cents to $80.47U.S. Gold prices dropped $12 to $1,096 U.S.