Toronto stocks closed lower Monday ahead of U.S. inflation data and the Bank of Canada's decision on monetary policy scheduled later this week.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 8.59 points, or 0.04%, at 19,822.45.

In corporate news - West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. has signed a deal to sell its unbleached softwood kraft pulp mill in Hinton, Alta., to Mondi Group, an integrated packaging and paper company. Mondi says it is paying US$5 million for the mill and plans invest 400 million euros to expand the facility.

Transat AT Inc. said it has sold a piece of land in Mexico to resort company Finest Resorts for US$38 million.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.21 cents to 75.31 cents U.S.

ON BAYSTREET

The TSX Venture Exchange was up 6.39 points to 621.13.

Four of the 12 TSX subgroups lost ground Monday, with Telecom stocks down 2.22%, while utilities issues dipped 1.38% and Financials were off 0.30%.

On the upside, health-care was ahead 2.52%, gold picked up 1.63%, and Materials rose 1.24%.

ON WALLSTREET

Stocks in the U.S edged up Monday as investors looked ahead to inflation data later in the week and prepared for the start of the second-quarter earnings season.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 209.52 points, or 0.62%, to 33,944.4, the S&P 500 gained 10.58 points, or 0.24%, at 4,409.53 and the Nasdaq Composite added 24.77 points, or 0.18%, at 13,685.48.

The consumer price index report is due Wednesday, followed by the producer price index — a measure of wholesale price pressures — out Thursday.

Citigroup strategists on Monday downgraded U.S. stocks to "neutral," and said megacap growth is set for a pullback and U.S. recession risks could still take hold.

Meta Platforms (META) shares moved higher Monday following data suggesting its new social media platform, Threads, gained more than 100 million users since it launched late last week.