The Toronto stock market is negative after elections in France and Greece over the weekend resulted in another round of uncertainty about Europe’s debt crisis.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 64.55 points to 11,806.68, while New York’s Dow Jones industrials were down 46.81 points to 12,991.46.

The Canadian dollar moved up 0.1 of a cent to 100.55 cents (U.S.).

The Nasdaq composite index lost 16.32 points to 2,940.02 and the S&P 500 index slipped 4.35 points to 1,364.75.

Demand concerns continued to pressure oil prices, which fell another 83 cents to $97.66 (U.S.) a barrel after tumbling more than seven per cent last week.

The parliament in Greece is split after elections Sunday and there is no party close to forming a new government. The French ousted President Nicolas Sarkozy, part of a wave of unrest over budget cuts as unemployment spirals higher and social services and safety nets evaporate.

Greek shares took a pounding, underperforming all others with a near 7 per cent retreat on the main Athens exchange.

Elsewhere in Europe, however, the early downbeat mood improved somewhat as investors awaited the arrival of Francois Hollande as French president following his defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy on Sunday.

The CAC-40 in France, which following early losses, was trading 0.3 per cent higher at 3,170.

Germany’s DAX also trimmed losses to be trading only 0.6 per cent lower at 6,523 after new figures showed the country’s factory orders rose 2.2 per cent in March, more than expected, despite an economic downturn in Europe.

Also helping markets recover from early losses was Spain’s decision to present bank clean-up measures this week to alleviate doubts about the sector — a key source of worry over whether Spain might need a financial bailout. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he would not rule out lending, or injecting public money into the sector if necessary.

Madrid’s main stock index rallied 1.4 per cent on the news. Elsewhere, the FTSE 100 of leading British shares was closed for a public holiday.

In the currency markets, the euro also recovered some of its poise after falling to a three-month low against the dollar during Asian trading hours. It was up 0.4 per cent at $1.3028, having earlier fallen to a low of $1.2972.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunged 2.8 per cent to close at 9,119.14 — its lowest finish in three months — with the market’s export sector also sapped by a rising yen. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slid 2.6 per cent to 20,536.59.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 2.2 per cent to 4,301.30 and South Korea’s Kospi shed 1.6 per cent to 1,956.44.