Canada's resource-heavy stock index looked set to open higher on Monday, led by strong gains in commodity prices as euro rose against the greenback.
The Canadian dollar traded at 99.06 U.S. cents or 0.37 cents higher than late Friday.
Research in Motion Inc. shares gained 4% in pre-market trading on the Nasdaq after the company's co-founders and co-CEOs stepped down and appointed chief operating officer Thorsten Heins CEO. In Frankfurt, the stock gained 2.7%
Meantime, Ottawa-based Wi-LAN Inc. has launched a patent suit against RIM. The suit filed in a U.S. district court in Florida claims that the BlackBerry maker is infringing on two patents belonging to Wi-LAN.
Descartes Systems Group has acquired GeoMicro, Inc., a California-based company that provides advanced geographic information systems and navigation products. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed in Monday’s announcement.
U.S. stock futures were little changed. Dow futures rose 25 points, or 0.2%, to 12,679, while S&P 500 futures stood at 1,309.60, down by 1.2 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures inched up 0.75 points, or 0.03% to 2,435.50.
Global stocks were broadly higher as investors bet that Greece would be able to work out a debt-restructuring deal.
Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.7%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.5%, and Germany's DAX gained 0.4%
European investors were betting that any stabilisation in the region's debt crisis will make current valuations look cheap. Borrowing rates for fiscally weak countries like Italy and Spain continued to slide, suggesting growing confidence in their financial futures.
Greece is in the process of working out a debt relief deal that is vital to avert bankruptcy in March. Greece's private creditors are being asked to swap their bonds for debt with a 50% lower value and much longer maturities. However, even though both sides are moving closer, a key sticking point remains the interest rates the new bonds would carry.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat. Many Asian markets, including those in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul, were closed for the regional lunar New Year celebrations.
Gold hit a six-week high, up 7.1% since the end of December. Spot gold was up 1.1% at $1,675.44 U.S. an ounce.
U.S. gold futures for February delivery were up $12.30 an ounce at $1,676.30.
Copper steadied, trading at $8,277.25 U.S. a tonne.
Crude oil rose 0.9% to $99.25 U.S. a barrel.
Related Stories
