The Toronto stock market looked set to open in the green on Monday, tracking its U.S and European counterparts, on anticipation of a Franco-German master plan.
Among Canadian stocks to watch this morning, Enbridge Inc., which expects to win support for its $5.5-billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline from a majority of native communities along the proposed route based on current negotiations.
Miner Frontier Rare Earths Ltd. signed a definitive agreement to partner with Korea Resources Corp to fast-track the development of the Zandkopsdrift rare earth project in South Africa.
The Canadian dollar regrouped 0.22 cents against its U.S. counterpart to 98.60 cents U.S.
Stateside, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 130 points or 1.1%, within an hour of the opening bell. Futures for the broader S&P 500 grew 17 points or 1.4%, while Nasdaq futures increased 28.25 points or 1.2%.
Overseas, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.6% and Germany's DAX index was up 0.9%.
Some of the good feelings are coming from Italy, where the new government announced a three-year plan to tame the indebted country's finances, which includes tax increases, pension overhauls and tax cuts. Italy has been suffering from surging bond yields, which threaten to raise the country's borrowing costs to levels that are considered unsustainable.
On Monday, the yield on the 10-year government bond fell to 6.35%, the lowest level in a month --though still elevated.
The moves come ahead of a European summit on Dec. 9, at which leaders are expected to agree on measures to strengthen the region's economic union, perhaps with a measure making budgetary discipline legally binding.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% in overnight trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gathered 0.7%.
Gold trailed Friday’s close by $13.40 U.S. an ounce to $1,737.90 U.S.
Crude prices picked up 83 cents U.S. a barrel to ready itself for the opening bell at $101.79 U.S.
