Stock futures pointed to a higher start for markets in Toronto as equities came off a weak start to the year.
The S&P/TSX composite index hesitated 2.76 points to close Friday at 12,445.45. The index has fallen eight consecutive days
The Canadian dollar gained 0.36 cents to 70.92 cents U.S. early Monday.
Onex Corp and its affiliate Onex Group said on Sunday they sold KraussMaffei Group, a German plastics processing machinery maker, to China National Chemical Corp for a cash enterprise value of 925 million euros.
According to the deal, Onex Group will receive proceeds of about 670 million euros, while Onex Corp will get 180 million euros, including carried interest of 12 million euros.
Suncor Energy Inc said on Friday it had extended its hostile bid for Canadian Oil Sands Ltd until Jan. 27. Suncor needs to secure at least two-thirds support from shareholders to succeed in the bid, which comes against a backdrop of tumbling global crude oil prices that slid to a 12-year low.
In a statement on Friday, Canadian Oil Sands said it wanted its shareholders to take no action on Suncor's bid, reiterating its view that it is undervalued by the bid.
NBF cut the rating on Copper Mountain Mining to sector perform from outperform as the balance sheet stress alleviated under higher copper prices.
National Bank Financial cut the rating on First Quantum Minerals to sector perform as the company is expected to require covenant relief is immediate, completion of non-core asset sales required under difficult market conditions.
On the economic front, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of housing starts fell to 172,965 units in December from an upwardly revised 212,028 units in November, and way below the forecast 200,000 starts.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gathered 0.92 points Friday to 514.67
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. futures are moving higher, after a miserable start to the year.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials bolted higher by 115 points, or 0.7%, to 16,350, futures for the S&P 500 gained 16.5 points, or 0.9%, to 1,928. NASDAQ futures picked up 32.25 points, or 0.8%, to 4,293.75.
The Dow lost 1,079 points last week, or over 6%. It was the Dow's worst start to a year on record.
Shares in the DNA sequencing company llumina Inc. are up 3% in pre-market trading, after it announced a $100 million spinoff.
The new company, called Grail, will aim to develop a simple blood test to identify cancers in patients with no symptoms. Illumina secured an array of high profile investors, including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
Apple is edging up 0.7% pre-market after a report that its music subscription service has reached 10 million subscribers. The stock plunged below $100 U.S. a share last week, for the first time since October 2014.
Aluminum maker Alcoa is reporting its fourth quarter results after the close on Monday. The company has been struggling with low commodity prices. Alcoa announced last week it was closing its Warric Operation in Indiana, the largest facility of its kind in the world.
European markets are edging higher in early trading. The FTSE 100 is up 0.2%, while Germany's DAX is up 1.1%.
The main stock markets in China plunged again. The Shanghai Composite closed down 5.3%, and the Shenzhen Composite ended 6.6% lower.
The grim day of trading followed steep declines in Chinese stocks last week amid worries over the country's weakening currency and slowing economy.
Oil prices fell 48 cents to $32.68 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slid $1.95 to $1,102.20 U.S. an ounce.
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