The Toronto stock market appeared positioned for a slightly higher open, with U.S. markets looking to regain their early-year momentum, after a lacklustre response to strong U.S. jobs numbers last Friday.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.07 of a cent to 97.44 cents US.
Dow Jones industrial futures were up 16 points at 12,325. The Nasdaq futures rose seven points to 2,359, while the S&P 500 rose two points to 1,276.
In corporate news, Canada’s largest publicly traded miner Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.A) is moving to solidify its position in the oil business, offering more than $435 million for its oilsands partner SilverBirch Energy Corp. (TSXV:SBE). The transaction is valued at $8.50 cash for each SilverBirch share plus one share of a new company, to be called SilverWillow Energy Corp.
Commodity prices were higher with the February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange ahead two cents to US$101.58 a barrel. Bullion prices were up $2.20 to US$1,619 an ounce.
After a perky start to the year, market sentiment has deteriorated again due to concerns about Europe’s ability to solve its debt problems.
European markets were steady Monday ahead of a meeting between the leaders of France and Germany on restoring confidence in the euro. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting for the first time this year.
London’s FTSE 100 index slipped 0.16%, Frankfurt’s DAX lost 0.14% while the Paris CAC 40 was up 0.25%.
Earlier, Asian stocks ended the day mixed, as Japan’s Nikkei 225 posted a 1.2% drop. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.47%.