Toronto’s main stock index looked set to open lower, as initial excitement over a victory for Greece's pro-bailout parties faded and the focus returned to investor worries about the rising cost of borrowing in Spain and Italy.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index gained 57.65 points Friday to close the week at 11,524.07. Canada stock futures traded down 0.08% Monday.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.64 of a cent this morning to 97.32 cents U.S.
Among stocks to watch this morning, Bank of Nova Scotia will record a $600-million after-tax gain in its fiscal third quarter from the sale of its Scotia Plaza office complex in Toronto
Swiss commodities trader Glencore International Plc said on Friday it has agreed to an extension of the Canadian government's review of its proposed takeover of grain handler Viterra Inc.
The scope of a planned environmental review of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada could go beyond a small disputed portion in Nebraska and threatens to delay TransCanada Corp.’s project further.
Air Canada won a long-running contract dispute with its mechanics and baggage handlers on Sunday, after an arbitrator opted to enforce its final offer over one put forward by the union.
On the economic front this morning, Statistics Canada told us that offshore investors acquired $10.2 billion of Canadian securities in April, after a bit of a selloff the month before. Canadian investors' holdings of foreign securities went down by $2.7 billion, predominantly in bonds.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange squeaked upward 0.94 points to close at 1,253.32. The Nasdaq Canada index strengthened 4.90 points to 370.95
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. investors watched Europe's continued troubles Monday, as an election in Greece was unable to provide a sustained lift for markets overseas.
Futures for the Dow Industrials erased 34 points, or 0.3%, to 12,676, half an hour before the opening bell, while futures for the S&P 500 doffed 6.5 points, or 0.5%, to 1,331. Futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq lost one point to 2,563.
The win in Sunday's Greek vote by the New Democracy party -- which supports the European bailout -- helped reassure investors. There were worries that a victory by austerity opponents would lead to a Greek debt default and a potential breaking up of the euro-zone.
But the Greek vote did little to assure investors about mounting problems in Spain and the Spanish banking system. While the election lifted markets in Asia, a rally in European stocks proved short-lived, and rising bond yields in Spain and elsewhere across Europe reflected the growing concern.
In Asia, the major indexes held most of their early gains to finish higher. Japan's Nikkei ended up 1.8%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1%, and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4%.
But while European markets opened with solid gains, they soon pulled back. London's FTSE 100 and Paris CAC 40 both swung between slight gains and slight losses. The FTSE was up 0.5%, but the CAC was little changed. Only Frankfurt's DAX remained in positive territory throughout the early trading day, rising 0.6%.
The Greece's Athex composite index jumped 5% on the election results there, as did shares of the National Bank of Greece in pre-market U.S. trading.
But Spain's IBEX 35 index plunged 1.4%. It was led lower by leading bank stocks there, an indication of investors' focus on Spanish problems.
Oil for July delivery fell 82 cents to $83.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery fell $6.60 to $1,621.50 U.S. an ounce.
