Toronto stocks set to open lower

U.S. futures were also in the red after China’s premier Wen Jiabao lowered the economy’s growth target to 7.5% from the eight per cent level it has stood at for years as he outlined plans to boost domestic consumption and to maintain a “prudent” monetary policy.

Wen said that China’s economy is encountering new problems, citing downward pressure on economic growth and high prices.

The Dow Jones industrial futures lost 37 points to 12,931, the Nasdaq futures were down nine points to 2,634.5 and the S&P 500 futures dipped 4.6 points to 1,364.2.

China’s economy grew by 9.2% last year, down from 10.3% in 2010 as the government tries to gradually slow growth and tame high inflation. In addition, many local governments are wracked with debt and with Europe in crisis and the U.S. recovery fragile, demand for Chinese exports is weakening.

Strong Chinese growth has been an important prop for a global economy still struggling to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.

That growth has also supported higher commodity prices and rising stock prices on the resource-heavy Toronto stock market.

Commodity prices were lower across the board Monday morning with the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down seven cents to US$106.63 a barrel.

May copper shed three cents to US$3.87 a pound. China is the world’s biggest consumer of copper, viewed as an economic bellwether since it is used in so many businesses.

Bullion also headed lower with the April contract down $6.80 to US$1,703 an ounce.

There were also concerns over whether Greece can entice enough private creditors to participate in a bond swap deal.

Heavily indebted Greece and its bondholders have agreed on a debt swap that would reduce the face value of their holdings by 53.5%. The debt reduction is one condition of Greece getting a second, €130 billion bailout from other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund.

Greece, and its partners in the eurozone, are eager to bring the deal off as a voluntary exchange — meaning that it does not trigger payouts on credit default swaps, a form of insurance on bonds.

In Europe, London’s FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 0.35% as oil giant BP PLC agreed to a settlement with victims of the massive Gulf oil spill. BP said it expects to pay out US$7.8 billion to settle a wide range of claims that also include property damage, lost wages and losses to businesses. BP’s share price was up around 1.6% as investors welcomed the end of the uncertainty.

Frankfurt’s DAX fell 0.99% and the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.38%.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8 per cen, South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4%. Mainland Chinese shares were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.6% and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index marginally higher.

Investors will be keeping a close watch on a raft of U.S. economic data this week, culminating on Friday’s nonfarm payrolls figures. Canadian employment data for February is also released Friday.