Futures for Canada's main stock index remained subdued on Monday, with the support from a rise in oil prices offset by a decline in metal prices, as investors grew cautious ahead of the Bank of Canada's monetary policy meeting later in the week.
The TSX Composite climbed 145.79 points to end Friday at 20,906.52. On the week, though, the index was down 83.7 points, or 0.4%.
March futures nicked up 0.1% Monday.
The Canadian dollar inched higher 0.05 cents to 74.49 cents U.S.
Investors look forward to the much-awaited Bank of Canada monetary policy meeting, due Wednesday, for the central bank's direction on interest rate cuts.
The BoC is expected to leave its key overnight rate unchanged this time, but stubborn inflation has delayed the timeline for the first rate cut in almost four years.
Money market participants are now pricing in just over 22% chances of a cut in borrowing costs in March, while a majority of over 56% are expecting a cut in April.
In corporate news, Canadian apparel maker Gildan Activewear on Sunday said it had learned activist fund Browning West, LP's purchase of the company's shares last month violated the U.S. anti-trust laws.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange recovered 1.15 points Friday to 552.33. Over the last five sessions, the index lost 3.9 points, or 0.7%.
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose Monday, with investors looking to build on the S&P 500's fresh all-time high from Friday.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials gained 90 points, or 0.2% to 38,135.
Futures for the S&P 500 hopped 19.5 points, or 0.4%, at 4,889.
Futures for the NASDAQ soared 123.75 points, or 0.7%, to 17,561.75.
Investors will be closely watching a slate of economic reports due out this week, including gross domestic product data on Thursday and the personal consumption expenditures prices on Friday. Both reports could provide insight into how central bank policymakers view monetary policy moving forward.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 soared 1.6% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index settled 2.3%.
Oil prices eked up 25 cents to $73.66 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank 30 cents to $2,029 U.S. an ounce.
