The TSX composite fell 38.63 points to 12,734.49 in mid-morning trading on Monday. The Dow was down 15.57 to 14,074.09, while NASDAQ gained 0.14 to 3,169.89.
Aurizon Mines (TSX: T.ARZ, Stock Forum) were up 3.68% to $4.51 after the gold miner said Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) would acquire all of the outstanding diluted common shares of Aurizon for approximately $796 million.
According to published reports, some analysts fear that the $85 billion U.S. in cuts could take a big bite out of economic growth this year.
However, lawmakers could eventually replace the arbitrary, across-the-board cuts with something more targeted.
The price of gold fell US$2.00 to US$1,573.61 an ounce, while silver eased US$0.027 to US$28.53 an ounce.