Futures for Canada's main stock index pointed to a higher open on Monday as signs of progress in developing a COVID-19 vaccine renewed hopes for a post-pandemic economic rebound.
The TSX gained 37.14 points to close Friday and the week at 16,222.46. The gain on the week, however, was but 4.45 points.
The Canadian dollar eked up 0.08 cents Monday to 75.94 cents U.S.
September futures increased 0.6% Monday.
AstraZeneca said over the weekend it had resumed British clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine, one of the most advanced in development, after getting the green light from safety watchdogs.
Meantime, private security company Garda World Security said on Monday it offered to buy British rival G4S for about 2.95 billion pounds ($3.80 billion), seeking to turnaround the London-listed firm.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange slipped 8.68 points, or 1.2%, to 733.37, Friday for a retreat on the week of 0.32 points.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures rose early Monday after a selloff in tech shares led to the market’s first back-to-back weekly declines in months.
Futures for Dow Jones Industrials hiked 227 points, or 0.8%, early Monday, to 27,720.
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 37.75 points, or 1.1%, at 3,361.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite jumped 141.5 points, or 1.3%, to 11,189.75.
Shares of Apple were higher by 2% in pre-market trading. The market has been following in the footsteps of its rally leader. Apple shares are down 13% this month.
Tesla shares rebounded by more than 2% in pre-market trading. The once-surging stock is down more than 25% in September after it failed to gain entry into the benchmark S&P 500, something investors were anticipating.
Tech sentiment was lifted by news of Nvidia buying chipmaker Arm Holdings from SoftBank for $40 billion. Nvidia will finance the deal through a combination of cash and common stock. Nvidia was up 6% in premarket trading. Other chipmakers also gained, including AMD, Micron and Skyworks.
AstraZeneca resumed phase three trials for its coronavirus vaccine in the U.K. following a halt for safety concerns.
Meanwhile, the number of U.S. coronavirus cases are growing by 5% or more in 11 states, according to an analysis of Johns Hopkins University data.
ByteDance rejected Microsoft’s bid to buy TikTok’s U.S. operations. Instead, ByteDance has chosen Oracle to be TikTok’s U.S. technology partner, and Oracle will take a significant stake in the business, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Oracle shares were up 6% in pre-market trading.
Gilead said it will acquire Immunomedics to expand its cancer treatments. It was a $21 billion cash deal. Immunomedics shares doubled in pre-market trading. Shares of Immunomedics surged more than 100% in pre-market trading Monday.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.7% Monday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index tallied 0.6%.
Oil prices sank 14 cents to $37.19 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices took on four dollars to $1,951.90.
Futures Pop on Vaccine Optimism
