TSX set to rise after last minute Cypriot bailout deal reached

But in order to get the money, the country had to come up with €5.8 billion on its own. The bulk of that money is now being raised by forcing losses on large bank deposit holders, with the remainder coming from tax increases and privatizations.

The European Central Bank had threatened to cut off crucial emergency assistance to the country’s banks by Tuesday if no agreement was reached.

The country’s second-largest bank, Laiki, will be restructured, with all bond holders and people with more than €100,000 in their bank accounts facing significant losses.

The Canadian dollar also benefitted from the deal as traders were willing to take on more risk. The loonie rose 0.42 of a cent to 98.14 cents US.

U.S. futures were also positive as the Dow Jones industrial futures climbed 42 points to 14,501, the Nasdaq futures were up 15.5 points to 2,809 and the S&P 500 futures rose 6.75 points to 1,558.75.

The focus will likely remain on developments surrounding Cyprus for a while yet. In particular, investors will be interested to see if the level of bank withdrawals from the country’s banks when they reopen. That’s scheduled for Tuesday.

A longer-lasting concern though is how the Cyprus deal plays out in other countries, notably those at the forefront of Europe’s debt crisis. Analysts warned there there is still a risk of contagion spreading to other weak eurozone countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.

Investors also kept a wary eye on the other major trouble spot in the eurozone as Italy had to pay slightly higher interest rates to raise €3.8 billion in bond sales. The treasury paid a rate of 1.75% in the sale Monday, up from 1.68% at the last such auction last month.

Center-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani is holding consultations on forming a new government following elections last month that ended with no clear winner. He is expected to announce his results in coming days.

European bourses were sharply higher in the wake of the Cypriot bailout deal as London’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.03%, Frankfurt’s DAX climbed 1.25% while the Paris CAC 40 index rose 1.47%.

Earlier, investors in Asia welcomed the Cypriot developments and Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged 1.7% while South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.6%.

However, mainland Chinese shares fell Monday, with the Shanghai Composite Index and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index both down 0.1%.

Commodity prices were mixed with the May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 46 cents to US$94.17 a barrel.

May copper was unchanged at US$3.46 a pound while April bullion fell $7.60 to US$1,598.50 an ounce.

In corporate news, Dell plans to negotiate with Blackstone Group and investor Carl Icahn over new acquisition bids for the computer maker that rival an offer of more than US$24 billion from investors led by founder Michael Dell. Dell and Silver Lake Partners have offered to buy the company for $13.65 per share. Buyout specialist Blackstone is proposing to buy the company for $14.25 per share. Icahn wants to buy up to 58% of Dell’s shares for $15 each. Icahn and other investors have criticized Michael Dell’s bid as too low.

AltaGas Ltd. (TSX:ALA) has agreed to pay US$515 million to purchase Blythe Energy LLC, which owns a 507-megawatt electricity generation plant and associated transmission line in Southern California

Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (TSX:PBH) will acquire Freybe Gourmet Foods Ltd. of Langley, B.C., under a friendly deal. Premium says the purchase price is $55 million, subject to adjustments.

Looking ahead, earnings are due Thursday from smartphone maker BlackBerry (TSX:BB), which released its latest models to several international markets last month. The company’s fourth-quarter earnings will be a glimpse into how well the smartphones are selling in Canada, the U.K. and India, though details on its U.S. launch and other markets won’t be part of the financial report until next earnings period.

Its stock fell eight per cent Friday as the new Z10 product officially went on sale in the U.S.

In economic news, investors will take in the latest read on economic strength on Thursday. Gross domestic product is expected to have risen by 0.1% in January following a 0.2% dip in the previous month.

Canadian consumer price index numbers for February are due on Wednesday. The data is expected to show that inflation jumped 0.7%, on higher gasoline prices, according to consensus expectations from BMO Economic Research.

In the U.S., the latest durable goods orders data, due Tuesday, is expected to show an increase of 3.8% for February.