Wall Street futures are foreshadowing a flat start to trading today as markets get set to recover from sluggish Friday following a disappointing U.S. jobs report.

Most of the major economic news from both Canada and the U.S. is due out later in the week. Here at home, this morning, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation is reporting rate of housing starts was 214,100 in February, compared with 195,500 in January.

Housing demand remains robust, thanks to strength in employment and consumer confidence, says CMHC. The sea annual rate of urban starts rose 10.9% to 188,500 units. It rose in a urban regions except British Columbia. Starts were up 11.9% in the Prairies, 24.5% in Quebec, 11.6% in Ontario and 12.2% in the Atlantic Region.

In business news today, Conrad Black has been removed as chairman of the Telegraph Group. Air Canada has offered its non-union workers a compromise on planned changes to the pension plan and called for talks Sunday with the carrier’s unions, which have so far rejected such proposals. Finally, iIn Calgary, Petro-Canada is set to host an investor day with financial analysts talking about the company’s growth prospects.

European markets are up at midday. London’s FTSE100 Share Index is up 0.03% at 4,548.50, while in Paris the CAC40 Index is 0.57% higher at 3,782.59. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax Index is up 0.81% at 4,159.44.

Trading in Asia finished on a down note as profit-takers turned out in force. Tokyo’s Nikkei Stock Average fell 34.43 points, or 0.3%, to 11,502.86. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 118.78 points, or 0.9%, to 13,573.54.

On Friday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index closed up 71.77 points at 8,845.04. The TSX finished up about 44 points on the week. New York’s Dow Jones industrial average moved up 7.55 points at 10,595.55 for an 11-point weekly gain. The Nasdaq composite index fell 7.48 points lower to 2,047.63, while the S&P 500 index advanced 1.99 points at 1,156.87.