Canada's main stock index edged lower Monday, softening as the afternoon progressed with weakness in energy stocks, while U.S. markets were mixed but didn't make big moves in either direction.

The S&P/TSX composite index was down 66.78 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 20,514.80.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 40.47 points at 33,431.44. The S&P 500 Index was up 2.78 points at 4,048.42, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 13.27 points at 11,675.74.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.45 cents US compared with 73.48 cents US on Friday.

The April crude contract was up 78 cents at US$80.46 per barreland the April natural gas contract was down 44 cents at US$2.57 per mm/BTU.

The April gold contract was unchanged at US$1,854.60 an ounce and the May copper contract was up two cents at US$4.09 a pound.