Stock futures pointed to a higher start for Canada's main stock index on Monday
The S&P/TSX composite index gained 36.20 points to end the day, week and month at 14,673.48, with March futures up 0.5%
The Canadian dollar was flat at 78.74 cents U.S. early Monday.
A Canadian pension fund said it picked an Australian toll road to make its first large investment in yet-to-be-built infrastructure, committing A$525 million ($409.5 million U.S.) for a quarter stake in the country's longest road tunnel north of Sydney.
Canaccord Genuity cut the price target on AutoCanada to $66.00 from $81.00
Barclays raised the price target on BCE Inc to $61.00 from $55.00
TD Securities raised target price on Canadian Oil Sands Ltd to $8.50 from $8.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved higher 9.70 points Friday to 676.81
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are edging higher ahead of February's first trading day, but the moves are modest and the mood cautious.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials progressed 30 points, or 0.2%, to 17,127. Futures for the S&P 500 gained three points, or 0.2%, to 1,991.50, and futures for the NASDAQ eked up 1.75 points to 4,143.
The Dow shed 3.7% last month, while the S&P lost 3.1% and the NASDAQ ditched 2.1%.
Trading in auto stocks could be higher than normal Monday after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the recall of over two million vehicles to fix faulty crash sensors. Saturday's news may hit shares in TRW, which made the faulty sensors.
Separately, General Motors is facing more than 3,350 claims alleging that GM vehicles with faulty ignition switches caused deaths and injuries. GM recalled millions of cars last year, with the ignition switch problem seriously tarnishing its image.
Exxon Mobil and Sysco are among the main companies reporting earnings Monday. They will both report before the opening bell.
The U.S. Census Bureau will report December construction spending at 10 a.m. ET.
European markets were creeping higher in early trade, but uncertainty about Greece and weak economic data from China kept a lid on gains.
Asian markets ended mostly weaker. The Shanghai Composite index led the way with a decline of 2.6% Monday. That was the fifth consecutive daily decline.
Oil prices moved up 26 cents to $48.50 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slid $5.40 to $1,273.80 U.S. an ounce.
