The Toronto stock market looked set for a sharp gain at the open as traders caught up to solid advances in commodities and global markets Monday while the TSX was closed for Victoria Day.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up in the red Friday 50.04 points, to close at 11,280.64
The Canadian dollar traded this morning down 0.06cents to 98.24 cents U.S.
Investors also appeared ready to shop for stocks beaten down over three weeks of sharp declines that took the TSX down to the levels of last October.
In corporate news, Canada’s largest operator of convenience stores, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. says minority shareholders of Scandinavian convenience store operator Statoil Fuel & Retail have been slow to tender their stock to its friendly takeover offer.
The $2.68-billion U.S. offer has the support of Statoil ASA, the oil company that owns 54% of the Scandinavian convenience store operator. But Couche-Tard requires acceptance by 90% of Statoil Fuel’s shareholders.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange nipped back 0.19 points Friday to 1,227.88, while the Nasdaq Canada decreased 5.38 points to 355.84.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures were up slightly ahead of the open on Tuesday, suggesting that markets could build upon the 1.6% gain recorded in the U.S. by the S&P 500 on Monday.
Futures for the Dow Industrials gained but 13 points, or 0.1%, to 12,503, while futures for the broader S&P 500 nipped ahead 0.8 points, to 1,316.50, and futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq added 9.5 points, or 0.4%, to 2,553.
But any investors hoping for smoother conditions risk being severely disappointed. Macroeconomic events continue to look unusually volatile. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development reduced its forecast for growth in the euro-zone this year to a contraction of 0.1%, down from its earlier forecast of plus 0.2%.
But it also increased its outlook for U.S. GDP to 2.4%, up from just 2%. The OECD also warned that the global recovery remains extremely fragile and uneven and could be derailed by the debt crisis in Europe.
Overseas, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index spiked 0.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 index soared 1.1%. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 index added 1%, likewise France’s CAC 40, while Germany’s DAX index up 0.8%.
Oil for June delivery was down 11 cents U.S. to $92.46 a barrel
Gold was down 1% to $1,576.57 U.S. an ounce
