Canadian stocks looked set to open higher on Monday, tracking global markets, helped by speculation that the United States and Japan will offer ultra easy monetary policy for some time, but uncertainty about the outcome of the closely-fought election in Italy could keep a lid on gains.
The S&P/TSX composite index progressed 61.66 points to close Friday at 12,701.63
The Canadian dollar faded 0.03 cents to 97.77 cents U.S. early Monday
Sales of BlackBerry's make-or-break line of smartphones are running faster than expected, and the company has increased production to keep up.
Shares of Suncor Energy Inc and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd could gain more than 25% in the next year, helped by valuable asset bases that may attract activist investors, so said Barron's in its edition due out today.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 10.71 points Friday to 1,144.68
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were higher Monday, following gains overseas.
Futures for the Dow Industrials gained 57 points, or 0.4%, to 14,038. Futures for the S&P 500 took on seven points, or 0.5%, to 1,521.60, and futures for the NASDAQ added 18.25 points, or 0.7%, to 2,754.
In corporate news, shares of Barnes & Noble shot 18.5% higher after Chairman Leonard Riggio said he plans to buy the company's retail operations, leaving the Nook electronic book segment a separate company. No price was disclosed in his filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lowe's reported lower sales and earnings, but both results were slightly better than forecasts and the company announced a $5 billion share repurchase.
Results are due later in the week from companies including Home Depot, Macy's and Groupon. But there is little in the way of U.S. corporate or economic news due Monday.
Meanwhile, a number of Japanese media reports say that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is poised to nominate an advocate of aggressive monetary easing to head the Bank of Japan. The yen fell to the lowest point versus the dollar since May 2010 on the news.
And while results of Sunday's Italian elections are not yet known, late polls show center-left candidate Pier Luigi Bersani on track to defeat controversial three-time Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Markets could react badly if Berlusconi, who has promised to undo some austerity measures, was to win, as it would raise new doubts about the future of the euro.
European markets were firmer in morning trading, following a strong lead in Asia. The Nikkei 225 added 2.4%, while the Hang Seng increased 0.2% and the Shanghai Composite closed up 0.5%.
Oil prices gained 91 cents to $94.04 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices zoomed up $15 an ounce to $1,587.50 U.S.
Related Stories
