Stock futures pointed to a lower start for Canada's main stock index on Monday as oil prices fell due to worries about an oversupply in North America.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 8.09 points Friday to close a short week at 15,172.24. Futures Monday were lower by 0.6%.
The Canadian dollar was unchanged cents to 79.75 cents U.S. early Monday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International agreed to acquire gastrointestinal drug maker Salix Pharmaceuticals in an all-cash deal valued at about $10.1 billion.
More than 2,000 unionized workers at the Lumwana copper mine in Zambia, owned by Barrick Gold, stopped work on Monday, demanding to know what will happen to them when the company closes the business, a government official said.
Canadian National Railway said late on Sunday that it was unable to reach full agreement on a negotiated settlement with Unifor, the union representing 4,800 of its mechanical, clerical and intermodal staff, and would resume talks on Monday morning. Moreover, JP Morgan initiated coverage of the carrier with a neutral rating
RBC cut the rating on West Fraser Timber Co. to sector perform from outperform.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved forward 2.91 points Friday to 694.94
ON WALLSTREET
Futures dawdled in the lead-up to Monday morning’s opening bell.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slid 37 points, or 0.2%, to 18,067. Futures for the S&P 500 fell 3.75 points, or 0.2%, to 2,103.25, but futures for the NASDAQ eked up 1.75 points to 4,439.75.
Shares in HSBC are dropping by about 5% in London, keeping the FTSE 100 in the red, as investors react to a sharp drop in annual profits at the global bank.
HSBC is currently under investigation by Swiss authorities as part of a new criminal inquiry into allegations of money laundering.
Watch shares in Honda today after the Japanese automaker said its long-time CEO is being replaced in June. Shares dipped by 1% in Tokyo ahead of the announcement.
Dish Network will report earnings before the opening bell.
On the economic ledger, the U.S. National Association of Realtors will report January sales and prices of existing homes at 10 a.m. ET.
Most major European markets are jumping in early trading as investors welcome a new conditional deal that should see Greece stay in the euro-zone, at least for the next four months. Germany's DAX hit a new record high.
But Greece must present a list of economic reforms by the end of the day Monday for the deal to work. The list will need to be fleshed out and agreed with various institutions and creditors by April.
Oil prices retreated 3.8% to $48.86 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices went lower by 0.7% to $1,197.50 U.S. an ounce.
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