Canada's main stock index ended lower on Monday, as heavyweight energy stocks weighed with a fall in oil prices, while gold miners caught a boost from bullion jumping to its highest in nearly three months on political uncertainty.

The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index settled down 19.45 points, or 0.13 per cent, at 15,456.94, with seven of its 10 main groups lower.

"Uncertainty is still the rule of the day," said Bryden Teich, portfolio manager at Avenue Investment Management, adding that "cautious optimism about a stronger U.S. economy" is mixed with worry about trade disruption as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to impose tariffs and border tax adjustments.

Gold climbed to its highest in nearly three months as worries about the political landscape in the United States and Europe and a subdued dollar reinforced investor interest in the precious metal.

Among the Toronto index's most influential gainers were the biggest members of its sizable gold mining group, with Barrick Gold jumping three per cent to $25.40 and Goldcorp Inc up 3.7 per cent at $21.99.

The index's materials group, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, surged 2.5 per cent, while on the other side of the ledger the energy group slumped 2.2 per cent, as oil prices fell with ample U.S. supplies and excess speculative length outweighing OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

Major producer Canadian Natural Resources Ltd fell 2.5 per cent to $38.92, while Enbridge Inc lost 1.3 per cent to $56.33 and fellow pipeline company TransCanada shed one per cent to $61.85.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancers by a 1.3-to-1 ratio.

Pharmaceutical company Prometic Life Sciences Inc advanced 1.9 per cent to $2.14 after it said California Capital Equity LLC had exercised share purchase warrants in the company as it prepares for its first commercial launch in 2017.

Canadian trade data for December is due on Tuesday, after Canada achieved its first trade surplus in more than two years in November, while jobs data for January is due on Friday.    

U.S. stocks also slipped today, led by the energy sector as oil prices dropped, while investors awaited the next run of major earnings reports and sought further clarity on President Donald Trump's economic policies.

The benchmark S&P 500 receded after climbing close to a record high on Friday.

U.S. equities have rallied since Trump's November election, spurred by hopes for fiscal stimulus, lower taxes and fewer regulations under the Republican-led federal government.

"The market is starting to come down from its euphoric high and realize that maybe not everything is going to be solved in the first 100 days," said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa. "There's a lot of uncertainty."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 19.04 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 20,052.42, the S&P 500 lost 4.86 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 2,292.56 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 3.21 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 5,663.55.

Goldman Sachs economists said a fiscal boost to the United States is more likely in 2018 than this year because "the balance of risks is somewhat less positive" one month into 2017 and Trump's growth-boosting agenda could be offset by negative effects of trade and immigration restrictions.

"There are concerns regarding the backlash against any protectionist policies that come out of Washington and other countries and investors are seeking clarity," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive officer at 50 Park Investments.

Nine of 11 major S&P sectors ended lower. Energy shares fell 0.9 per cent as oil prices declined.

In earnings news, Hasbro shares jumped 14.1 per cent after the No. 2 U.S. toymaker reported record holiday-quarter revenue.

Tyson Foods fell 3.5 per cent. The company disclosed it had received a subpoena from U.S. authorities that it said likely stemmed from allegations the company conspired to fix chicken prices.

Several major companies will report results later in the week, including Gilead Sciences, Walt Disney and Coca-Cola.

More than half of S&P 500 companies have reported fourth-quarter results, and about two-thirds of them beat Wall Street expectations, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

About six billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, below the 6.7 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.63-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.73-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and 1 new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 108 new highs and 24 new lows.