Toronto's main stock index looked set to edge higher at Monday's open, as signs of economic contraction in Europe offset strong manufacturing data out of China.
Among Canadian stocks to watch this morning, Encana Corp. said it will speed up commercialization of its oil and liquids-rich assets through partnerships, but the company did not say how much the deals were valued at.
ATM services provider DirectCash Payments Inc said it has agreed to buy Australian peer Customers Ltd for about A$173 million in cash to expand its business globally.
ON BAYSTREET
The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Friday higher by 52.82 points to end the week at 12,392.18
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 16.63 points to 1,566.39, while the Nasdaq Canada index gained 9.21 points to 420.57
The Canadian dollar lost 0.21 cents this morning to 100.21 cents U.S.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. index futures were in flux with about half an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will open flat. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average had ballooned 72 points, or 0.6%, to 13,150. Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.9 points, or 0.1%, to 1,402.50, and futures for the Nasdaq were off 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 1,402.50.
On Friday, the Dow wrapped up the quarter with an 8.1% gain over the first three months of the year, marking its best first-quarter performance in more than a decade as investors bet that the stream of upbeat U.S. economic news is pointing to a better-than-expected economic recovery.
However, Europe remains a big question, with the indebted economies of Portugal and Spain raising many concerns over whether these two economies will soon need assistance.
Over the entire euro-zone, unemployment in February rose to 10.8% from 10.7% in January, close to a 15-year high. The FTSE Index in London was flat in afternoon trading to 5,767.13, while Frankfurt’s DAX index was also flat at 6,941.46. In Tokyo, the Nikkei ended up 0.3% to 10,109.87.
Commodity prices declined slightly. Crude oil fell to $102.44 U.S. a barrel, down 0.6%. Gold fell to $1,666 U.S. an ounce, down 0.3%.
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