Toronto stocks closed slightly lower on Monday as the market caught its breath after gaining 9 percent over the past two months and investors took profits from the energy sector, which weakened along with oil prices.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index closed down 13.04 points, or 0.12 percent, at 10,885.16.
"The markets have been so strong since Hurricane Katrina made landfall, it's not unrealistic that investors might want to pause and think things through," said Bryan Snelson, a financial adviser with Raymond James.
"There's a lot that we don't know yet, in terms of the economic fallout with Hurricane Katrina."
Three of the TSX index's 10 main subgroups lost ground.
The energy sector fell 1.29 percent as oil prices weakened to $63.34 a barrel on signs that a drop in world demand may offset price pressures from reduced oil production in the Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Katrina.
Canadian Natural Resources fell C$1.85, or 3 percent, to C$55 and Suncor Energy Inc was off C$1.51, or 2 percent, at C$69.39. EnCana Corp eased 90 Canadian cents, or 1.5 percent, to C$58.60.
However, the health-care sector helped mitigate losses and rose 1.55 percent on the back of Biovail Corp's strength.
Biovail built on Friday's gains and closed up C$1.14, or 4 percent, at C$27.75. Last week, the company said its once daily painkiller had won final approval from US regulators.
Consumer discretionary issues rose 0.79 percent and the industrial sector rose 0.61 percent.
Market momentum was slightly positive as 756 issues advanced and 732 declined on volume of 209 million shares worth C$3.7 billion.
The blue chip S&P/TSX 60 index fell 1.06 points, or 0.17 percent, to 610.27.