North American stocks were mixed on Monday at the start of the second quarter, with U.S. indexes weighed down by banks but Canada's benchmark index rising with commodity producers.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 35 points or 0.3 per cent, to 13,177. The broader S&P 500 fell 2 points or 0.1 per cent, to 1407. In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index rose 37 points or 0.3 per cent, to 12,429.
Bank of America Corp. fell 1.6 per cent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. fell 1 per cent. However, Alcoa Inc. and Procter & Gamble rose 0.8 per cent each.
Avon Products Inc. surged 19.1 per cent after it rejected a $10-billion (U.S.) takeover offer from beauty products company Coty Inc.
In Canada commodity producers showed some strength, with Suncor Energy Inc. up 1.1 per cent and Barrick Gold Corp. up 0.7 per cent. Financials were mixed, with Royal Bank of Canada up 0.4 per cent and Toronto-Dominion Bank down 0.6 per cent.
David Berman