Stock futures pointed to a lower opening for Canada's main stock index on Monday as oil prices fell after Iraq announced record-high production, feeding into a heavily oversupplied market.
The S&P/TSX composite index leaped 353.72 points, or 2.2%, to close Friday and the week at 12,389.58.
The Canadian dollar subsided 0.32 cents to 70.47 cents U.S. early Monday.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said its ailing chief executive, Michael Pearson, said he was on the road to recovery but was uncertain about when he would return from medical leave.
Valeant's former chief financial officer, Howard Schiller, is acting as interim chief executive. Pearson was hospitalized with severe pneumonia in late December.
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on WSP Global Inc. to $45.00 from $50.00, with a buy rating, after trimming organic growth and margin assumptions in light of ongoing commodity price weakness.
Brookfield Canada Office Properties is out with end-of-year figures today, expecting earnings of $2.82 per share
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange rocketed 8.62 points, or 1.8%, Friday to 483.67.
ON WALLSTREET
The price of oil is dropping again, which is putting pressure on U.S. stock futures and European markets.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials retreated 65 points, or 0.4%, to 15,939, futures for the S&P 500 faded 8.5 points, or 0.5%, to 1,888. NASDAQ futures lost 17 points, or 0.4%, to 4,230.50
A wide range of big U.S. companies are reporting earnings this week.
McDonald's, Halliburton and Kimberly-Clark kick things off by reporting results ahead of the open.
Then, after the close, Wall Street will hear from Steel Dynamics, Packaging Corp and J&J Snack Foods, the company behind ICEE drinks.
Shares in the security firm Tyco International are surging by about 7% premarket based on reports that Johnson Controls is considering a $20-billion U.S. takeover of the company. An announcement could come as early as today.
The latest oil price drop is being blamed on Saudi Arabia's state-run oil company, Saudi Aramco. The energy heavy hitter reportedly said it was continuing to invest in energy projects despite oversupply in the markets.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended the day with solid gains. The main Australian ASX All Ordinaries index led the way higher with a 1.8% jump.
Oil prices forfeited a dollar to $31.19 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $9.85 to $1,107.80 U.S. an ounce.
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