The Toronto stock market appeared headed for a flat open Monday as traders digest positive Chinese manufacturing data and await a key reading of the American manufacturing sector later in the morning.
The S&P/TSX index gained 50.25 points to close Thursday at 12,749.90
The Canadian dollar nipped ahead 0.01 cents to 98.37 cents U.S. early Monday.
The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Monday that the country's manufacturing picked up in March in a potentially positive sign for the recovery in the world's second-largest economy.
That nation’s Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 50.9 in March from 50.1 in February, which was the lowest reading in five months. Numbers above 50 denote expansion on a 100-point scale.
Chinese manufacturing is closely watched as an indicator of global consumer sales and demand for commodities such as copper and oil. High demand in the past has fuelled higher share prices for energy and mining stocks on the resource-intensive TSX.
The TSX starts the second-quarter trading period up a slight 2.5% year to date, down from highs of mid-March when the market was ahead about 3.5%, reflecting a stubbornly slow global economic recovery.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.21 points to close Thursday at 1,099.
ON WALLSTREET
Investors return Monday for what could be a quiet day of trading following the holiday weekend.
U.S. stocks wrapped up a stellar first quarter Thursday, with the S&P 500 finishing at a new high. U.S. markets were closed on Good Friday.
In company news, Tesla Motors jumped 12% in pre-market trading after the electric car maker said it expects to achieve its first-ever quarterly profit based on strong sales of its all-electric Model S.
Futures for the Dow Industrials gained 11 points, or 0.1%, to 14,508. Futures for the S&P 500 dropped 0.5 points to 1,562.20, and futures for the NASDAQ inched forward 2.5 points, or 0.1%, to 2,813.50.
Economically speaking, the U.S. Institute for Supply Management will release its monthly manufacturing index at 10 a.m. ET, and the Census Bureau will publish data on construction spending.
China released data Monday that indicated acceleration in manufacturing activity. Separately, Beijing and Shanghai announced new measures designed to cool housing prices.
The Nikkei 225 dropped 2.1% while the Shanghai Composite declined 0.1%.
Markets in London, Frankfurt, Paris and Hong Kong were closed Monday for an extended Easter holiday.
Oil prices took on 65 cents to $96.60 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $2.30 an ounce to $1,598.90 U.S.
