Toronto's main stock index looked set to open slightly higher on Monday, with investors cautious ahead of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later in the day that might signal prospects for monetary easing.
The S&P/TSX composite index eked up 2.44 points to finish Friday at 12,602.18
The Canadian dollar stumbled 0.15 cents to 101.46 cents U.S. Monday morning
Harry Winston Diamond Corp is selling its high-end watches-to-necklaces division to Swatch, in a $750-million cash deal that expands the Swiss watchmaker's luxury offering and lets the Canadian group concentrate on its diamond mines.
Alamos Gold said it will buy Aurizon Mines Ltd for about $780 million in cash and stock to get access to Aurizon's only operating gold mine, Casa Berardi, in northern Quebec.
Natural gas whiz Encana Corp. said on Friday CEO Randy Eresman will retire immediately, with board member Clayton Woitas taking over his duties until a permanent replacement is found.
First Quantum Minerals’ hostile $5.1-billion takeover bid for Inmet Mining Corp took a tense turn on Saturday, as the base metal miner delivered a letter to its rival suggesting Inmet may be trying to scuttle the bid, which is now in the hands of shareholders. Separately, the mining firm plans to invest $275 million in a new nickel mine in Zambia, a company official said on Saturday.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 0.17 points Friday to 1,240.25
ON WALLSTREET
Trading could be quiet Monday, as investors wait for the latest round of corporate earnings to begin in earnest.
Futures for the Dow Industrials doffed 18 points, or 0.1%, to 13,415. Futures for the S&P 500 gave back 0.5 points to 1,466.70, and futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq slid 13.25 points, or 0.5%, to 2,730.50
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are due to report their results Wednesday, while Intel, Bank of America and General Electric are up later in the week.
Shares of Hewlett-Packard rose 2% after news that it dethroned Lenovo, retaking its position as the top maker of personal computers.
Apple sank more than 3% after reports surfaced that the company cut orders for iPhone 5 components due to weak demand.
United Parcel Service Inc announced it is scrapping plans for a $6.8-billion U.S. merger with TNT Express NV, a smaller Dutch delivery company. UPS blamed the European Commission for ruining the deal, saying the EC's antitrust regulator wouldn't allow it.
At 4 p.m. ET, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to give a speech and take public questions at the University of Michigan.
European markets were slightly higher in morning trading, and Asian markets ended the session higher.
The Shanghai Composite added 3.1% after a government official hinted that foreign investment in China's capital markets could be allowed to expand dramatically. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng added 0.6% while Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday.
Oil prices added 30 cents to $93.86 cents U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $11.40 an ounce to $1,672 U.S.
