North American markets opened lower on Monday as oil prices rose above US$43 a barrel and the U.S. dollar held near record lows.

There are no U.S. economic data on the calendar Monday, but financial markets were hit with news of an attack on the U.S. Consulate in the Saudi Arabia. Eight people died, several more were injured and about 18 others were taken hostage Monday when gunmen attacked the U.S. Consulate in the Saudi city of Jeddah.

In Canadian economic news, construction intentions increased for the first time in four months in October in the wake of strong demand for new single-family dwellings in the housing sector, Statistics Canada said today. Municipalities issued $4.6 billion in building permits, up 2.0% from September.

In other business news, Goldcorp Inc. and Wheaton River Minerals said late Sunday they had struck a $2.4 billion merger deal to create a company with more than 1.1 million ounces of gold production a year.

On Friday, an increase in gold prices helped offset another decline in oil prices and allow Bay Street to finish last week on a positive note. Wall Street, meanwhile, carried the crude price drop to another gain, ending a solid week.

At the close, the S&P/TSX was up 17.17 points or 0.19% at 9055.66, a 0.01% decline on the week. The TSX Venture exchange gained 13.67 points or 0.8% at 1732.44.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 7.09 points or 0.07% at 10,592.21, putting in a 0.7% gain for the week. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.39 points or 0.2% at 2,147.96, rising 2.2% on the week, and reached a new intra-day high of 2,164, surpassing the previous high of 2,153 hit on Jan. 26. The S&P 500 Index edged up 0.84 points or 0.07% to 1,191.17.

The Canadian dollar rallied to close at US84.02¢, up 0.29 of a cent.