The Toronto Stock Exchange appeared set for a modest gain at the open Monday as commodity prices were buoyed by hopes data this week will show the U.S. housing market is in recovery mode.
The Canadian dollar sneaked upward 0.04 cents to 100.87 cents U.S.
The Toronto market could certainly use a catalyst to restart a rally that seemed to run out of steam this month after almost five consecutive months of gains. The TSX closed a handful of points lower last week, adding up to a third consecutive weekly decline, leaving the TSX still up 4.5% for this year to date.
In an otherwise quiet week for economic data, investors will look for Canadian data including wholesale trade figures Monday morning, January retail sales on Thursday and February's Consumer Price Index on Friday.
U.S. stocks looked relatively weak Monday morning, even as investors looked set to drive Apple Inc. higher in anticipation of an announcement on what the company will do with its $100-billion U.S. cash hoard.
U.S. index futures were down with about 30 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will retreat at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 19 points, or 0.1%, to 13,144. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down 2.4 points, or 0.1%, to 1,396.10, and for the tech-rich Nasdaq, futures slipped 3.8 points, or 0.1%, to 2,705.20
All three indexes have enjoyed have remarkable winning streaks recently, with markets welcoming signs of improving U.S. economic data and a slightly sunnier view from the U.S. Federal Reserve -- and the threat posed by rising bond yields hasn't blunted this enthusiasm yet.
The key event will likely revolve around Apple. The technology company has long been been sitting on an enormous pile of cash and has hinted that it will soon make a decision on what to do with it. That day seems to have arrived: Apple announced that it will hold a conference call on Monday morning to discuss its plans, with many observers expecting the announcement of a dividend.
The prospect of a dividend certainly has investors excited. Apple shares zoomed 3.5% in pre-market activity, driving the shares to a new high of $606 U.S.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.4% and Germany's DAX index was down 0.6% in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.1% in overnight trading.
Commodity prices also moved lower. Crude oil fell 0.3% to $106.73 U.S. a barrel. Gold fell 0.1%, to $1,654 U.S. an ounce.
