Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared set to open flat Monday morning as investors await direction from a slew of companies that will report their first-quarter results this week.

Transportation giant Canadian National Railway Co. (TSX:CNR) will report its first-quarter results Monday, kicking off the first heavy reporting week of Canada’s earnings season.

Other major Canadian companies scheduled to report results this week include Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP), Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G), Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B), Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT), Canadian Oil Sands Trust (TSX:COS.UN) and Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. (TSX:SC).

Commodities were slightly higher in morning trading after a report Friday that sales of new homes in the United States surged 27% last month, another sign the U.S. economy is well on its way to recovery.

The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 26 cents to US$83.28 a barrel while the June bullion contract gained $2 to US$1,155.70 an ounce.

The May copper contract on the Nymex gained 1.75 cents to US$3.53 a pound.

The Canadian dollar edged up 0.12 cent to 100.21 cents US.

In New York, U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open after Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) joined other companies in reporting more signs of an improving world economy.

The big equipment maker, whose results are seen as an economic indicator, reported first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations after a one-time charge related to health-care expenses. The company also said in a statement “economic conditions are definitely improving,” and orders are significantly higher than last year.

Investors also got some good news from Whirlpool Corp. (NYSE:WHR), which said its first-quarter profits doubled as it sold more appliances in the U.S. and other countries.

Investors also got some reassurance about Greece’s debt problems. The Greek government on Friday said it wanted to tap a rescue package from 15 European countries and the International Monetary Fund.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 33 points, or 0.3%, to 11,175. S&P 500 futures rose 3.00 points, or 0.3%, to 1,215.30. Nasdaq futures gained 2.50 points, or 0.1%, to 2,055.50.

Monday also brought news of a big corporate acquisition in the U.S. Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HTZ), the world’s largest car rental company, agreed to buy rival Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group (NYSE:DTG) for about US$1.17 billion in cash and stock.

In Asia, major stock markets closed higher. Japan’s Nikkei rose 2.3% while the Hong Kong Hang Seng gained 1.6%. In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.7%, Germany’s DAX gained 1% and France’s CAC 40 added 1.2%.