Stock futures for Canada's main index edged higher on Monday, ahead of U.S. congressional mid-term elections.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index faded 30.87 points to finish Friday and the week at 15,119.28
The Canadian dollar was unchanged at 76.33 U.S. early Monday
December futures gained 0.2% Monday.
Barrick Gold, which is being formed by Barrick's $6.1-billion takeover of Randgold Resources, is reportedly in talks with Newmont Mining to combine their Nevada gold mining operations
Canadian Solar has rejected an offer from its Chief Executive Officer Shawn Qu to take the solar module maker private.
AngloGold Ashanti and its joint venture partner IAMGOLD are looking at selling a mine in Mali after failing to reach an agreement with the West African country about an investment project.
CIBC raised the rating on Interfor Corp. to outperform from neutral
CIBC cut the rating on Sleep Country Canada Holdings to neutral from outperform
CIBC raised rating on West Fraser Timber to outperform from neutral
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.4 points Friday to 651.35
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat open on Monday as investors got ready for the upcoming mid-term elections.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials removed 39 points, or 0.2%, to 25,202
S&P futures dipped 2.75 points, or 0.1%, to 2,721.50, while the NASDAQ Composite slid 19.5 points, or 0.3%, to 6,960.75
Futures also fell as Apple shares dipped nearly 2% in the pre-market. The tech giant's decline comes after Rosenblatt Securities downgraded Apple amid expectations of lower iPhone sales.
On the earnings front, Booking Holdings and Occidental Petroleum are set to report earnings after the bell on Monday.
U.S. voters will head to the polls on Tuesday for high-stakes elections that can send ripples throughout capital markets. Democrats are largely expected to regain control of the House, with Republicans forecast to retain a slim majority in the Senate.This outcome is seen as largely positive as, historically, a government has led to solid gains in the stock market.
If the GOP maintains a majority in both chambers, it could give stocks a short-term boost as it increases the likelihood of further tax cuts.
Meanwhile, a so-called Democratic sweep could pressure stocks as it could lead to a reversal of some of the policies passed by the GOP to boost the economy.
The Democrats were leading with a seven-point advantage ahead of the contest, according to an News/Wall Street Journal poll released Sunday.
Investors are also grappling with uncertainty on the trade front.
Stocks were hit with a wild bout of volatility during Friday's trading session amid conflicting comments and reports on global trade.
On Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his rhetoric against protectionism and commitment to free trade in a speech. Xi said his
country was pursuing "a new round of high-standard opening up" to broaden market access to the rest of the world.
In economic data, the services Purchasing Managers' Index is due to be released 9:45 a.m. and Institute for Supply Management non-manufacturing figures are due to be released today at 10 a.m. ET.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 slid 1.6% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index dropped 2.1%.
Oil prices gained 41 cents to $73.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices subtracted four dollars to $1,229.60 U.S. an ounce.
