By Will Feuer
Shares in Toronto fell midday Monday as fears tied to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus weighed on global financial markets. Shares in Bank of Montreal slipped after the company announced plans to buy Bank of the West from BNP Paribas for $16.3 billion.
Canada's S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 1.46% to 20,398.03 while the blue-chip S&P/TSX 60 dropped 1.35%.
Bank of Montreal shares were down 2.71% at midday after the company announced its all-cash acquisition of San Francisco-based Bank of the West from BNP Paribas SA. The deal, one of the largest in banking in years, includes all of BNP Paribas' retail and commercial-banking activities in the U.S. and marks a major expansion for its BMO Harris Bank unit.
Other market movers:
Shares of Lundin Mining Corp. fell 13.54% after the company announced plans to acquire Josemaria Resources Inc. for 625 million Canadian dollars (US$484.7 million) in a cash-and-stock deal.
Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-20-21 1256ET
