Canadian stock futures were slightly lower on Monday, as oil prices fell under pressure from signs that some U.S. producers increased drilling and from a meeting of the world's major exporters next month to discuss freezing output, a meeting which investors feared might not pan out.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index descended 124.23 points to close Friday and the week at 13,497.07, with June futures off 0.05%.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.4 cents to 76.5 cents U.S. early Monday.
Pacific Exploration & Production Corp said it chose not to make an interest payment due March 28, as the company works with debtholders to restructure debt.
Mizuho Securities cut the target price on Valeant Pharmaceuticals to $18 from $70
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 1.62 points Friday to 580.82
ON WALLSTREET
Sentiment is cautious Monday morning, with U.S. stock futures edging lower
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slid 12 points, or 0.1%, to 17,480, futures for the S&P 500 dropped two points, or 0.1%, to 2,035.5. NASDAQ futures faltered 3.5 points, or 0.1%, to 4,391.25
Apple is hosting an event at its Cupertino campus on Monday where the company is expected to unveil smaller versions of the iPhone and iPad Pro. The event kicks off at 10 a.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. ET). It could also unveil new Apple Watch straps, though the Apple Watch itself is expected to remain unchanged.
Sherwin-Williams announced on Sunday it was buying Valspar for $113 U.S. per share in cash. The deal represents a 35% premium over Valspar's closing price on Friday.
Petrobras will be in focus as Brazil's oil company posts earnings after the closing bell. A massive bribery scandal at Petrobras has been blamed for plunging Brazil into a deep recession. Top government officials have been linked to the scandal, and Brazilians have staged mass protests.
European markets are up by about 0.5%.
The main Chinese stock market indexes jumped on Monday, though other Asian markets closed with mixed results. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.
Oil prices fell back 23 cents to $39.21 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices shed $11.99 to $1,243.41 U.S. an ounce.
