Stocks in Toronto were set for a modestly higher start on Monday as oil prices steadied with upbeat Asian economic data offsetting the impact from a rebound in Libyan oil production.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index sagged 31.01 points to close Friday, week, month and quarter at 15,547.75. June futures inched up 0.05% Monday
The Canadian dollar hesitated 0.16 cents at 74.93 cents U.S. early Monday.
Bombardier Chief Executive Alain Bellemare requested the board to defer the payment of more than half of the total planned 2016 compensation for its six named executive officers until 2020, amid public outcry over pay rises.
Cenovus Energy's $3-billion equity offering to partly fund its planned $17.7-billion acquisition of some of ConocoPhillips Co's Canadian assets has reportedly been fully subscribed.
BMO cut the rating on Atco Ltd. to underperform from market perform
CIBC cut the rating on Extendicare to neutral from outperformer
The Markit Canada Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index, a measure of manufacturing business conditions, is scheduled for release at 9:30 a.m. ET.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange surged 7.96 points Friday, or nearly 1%, to 815.77
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a marginally higher open on Monday as markets around the world start the second quarter on a positive note.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials forged out a gain of one point, to 20,605. Futures for the S&P 500 subsided one point, to 2,358.25. NASDAQ futures dipped 2.5 points, or 0.1%, to 5,441
The three indexes finished the first quarter higher, rising by at least 4.6%. The NASDAQ enjoyed its best quarter since 2013, rising more than 12%.
There are no significant earnings reports expected on Monday.
On matters economic, Monday will see the release of the latest manufacturing index reading from the Institute for Supply Management at 10 a.m. ET. The index rose to 57.7 in February and is expected to inch lower to 57.5 in March.
Construction spending and vehicle sales data will also be released.
European markets were at least marginally higher with the clock approaching noon on the continent, while the Nikkei 225 in Japan acquired 0.4%. Chinese markets were closed for holiday.
Oil prices eked up 20 cents to $50.80 U.S. per barrel.
Gold prices slid $1.80 to $1,249.40 U.S. an ounce.
