The Toronto stock market headed for a higher open Monday, adding to last week's advance amid mixed U.S. earnings news, higher commodities and a major acquisition in the Russian energy sector
The S&P/TSX composite fell 50.14 points Friday to finish the day and the week at 12,415.98, to end a four-session win streak.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.09 cents Monday morning to 100.45 cents U.S.
The TSX posted a 1.75% gain last week, reversing a 1.74% loss the previous week.
The TSX energy sector could be under some pressure after the federal government on Friday rejected a Malaysian state-owned energy giant's proposed takeover bid for Calgary-based natural gas producer Progress Energy Resources.
Petronas had offered $6 billion for Progress, but Industry Minister Christian Paradis said he was "not satisfied that the proposed investment is likely to be of net benefit to Canada." The thumbs down from Ottawa could impact share prices of other resource companies thought to be good candidates for a sale along with a hefty premium in the stock price.
The Canadian quarterly earnings season also kicks into gear this week with Canadian National Railways reporting later in the day.
Tech company Celestica reports on Tuesday and gas producer EnCana and telecom Rogers Communications on Wednesday.
Thursday sees the heaviest day with earnings coming in from gold producers Agnico Eagle Mines and Goldcorp Inc., energy companies Cenovus Energy and Nexen Inc. and Shaw Communications.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange struggled to a gain of 3.28 points Friday to 1,315.62
ON WALLSTREET
Stock futures rose Monday, ahead of another batch of corporate earnings.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials took on 13 points, or 0.1%, to 13,265, about 30 minutes before the opening bell. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 2.10 points, or 0.2%, to 1,426.10, and for the Nasdaq, futures gained 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,675.
Global bellwether Caterpillar kicked off a busy week of corporate earnings with a disappointing outlook, even as its quarterly results came in better than expected.
The heavy equipment manufacturer said it expects to earn between $9 and $9.25 U.S. per share on sales of about $66 billion U.S. in 2012. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had predicted full-year earnings of $9.40 per share on sales of $67 billion U.S
Despite the negative guidance, Caterpillar earned $2.54 U.S. per share in the third quarter, topping analysts' expectations.
Yahoo, with new CEO Marissa Mayer at the helm, reports after the bell. Yahoo is expected to post earnings of 26 cents a share on $1.08 billion U.S. in revenue.
Fellow tech heavyweights Facebook and Apple are up later in the week, as are AT&T and Boeing
European stocks were mixed in early trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.1%, the DAX in Germany was little changed, and France's CAC 40 added 0.2%.
Asian markets closed higher. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.2%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong advanced 0.7%, and Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 0.1%.
Oil for November delivery rose 17 cents to $90.22 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained five cents to $1,724.50 U.S. an ounce.
