TORONTO — Most North American stock markets closed lower Monday amid fears of growing international travel bans prompted by a new strain of COVID-19 discovered by British health officials.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 33.74 points at 17,500.89.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 37.40 points at 30,216.45. The S&P 500 index was down 14.49 points at 3,694.92, while the Nasdaq composite was down 13.12 points at 12,742.52.
The Canadian dollar traded for 77.83 cents US compared with 78.28 cents US on Friday.
The February crude oil contract was down US$1.27 at US$47.97 per barrel and the January natural gas contract was down half a cent at about US$2.70 per mmBTU.
The February gold contract was down US$6.10 at US$1,882.80 an ounce and the March copper contract was down about five cents at US$3.58 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 21, 2020.