TORONTO, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The Canadian stock market fell on Monday with fears of a hung parliament in Italy sweeping the globe as the outcome of its general election remained highly uncertain.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slumped 50.76 points, or 0.40 percent, to 12,650.87, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index decreased 3.68 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,141.00.
Investors are looking for a stable government for Italy on Monday. Polls from Monday afternoon showed no coalition in the Europe's third-largest economy got enough votes to form a government, reviving fears that Italy may face a hung parliament for an extended period.
The prospect of a divided Italian parliament pulled the Canadian financial stocks down, playing one of the biggest roles in leading the main index lower. Bank giant Royal Bank of Canada fell 1 percent to 63.59 Canadian dollars per share. Insurer Manulife Financial lost 2.1 percent to 14.84 Canadian dollars per share and its main rival, Sunlife Financial slipped 1.9 percent to 28.34 Canadian dollars per share.
Energy stocks suffered losses, with Suncor Energy falling 1.4 percent to 31.52 Canadian dollars per share to weigh heavily on the index.
Gold miners provided some lift to ease losses, as the bullion prices rose as risk appetite decreased amid worries of Italian political uncertainty. Gold prices grew 1.4 percent to end at 1, 593 U.S. dollars an ounce. Barrick Gold, the world's biggest producer, gained 2.2 percent to 31.81 Canadian dollars per share.
Information technology sector was up 0.35 percent. Shares in BlackBerry maker ended flat at 13.48 Canadian dollars apiece, giving up early gains after the smartphone maker's chief executive told a German newspaper that sales of its make-or-break BB10 lineup was better-than-expected and that the company had increased production.
At closing, the Canadian dollar weakened to 0.9745 U.S. dollar at 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT), compared with 0.9788 U.S. dollar on Monday.
