With U.S. markets closed for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, attention will be focused on the takeover battle for steelmaker Dofasco Inc.

Arcelor SA, the world’s second-largest steelmaker, has boosted its bid for Dofasco to $5.5 billion, topping a revised weekend bid of $5.28 billion by Germany’s ThyssenKrupp.

Crude-oil futures rose Monday after an oil platform in Nigeria was attacked and Iran warned that any sanctions imposed over the country’s nuclear program could send oil prices even higher. Brent crude for February delivery gained 80¢ to US$63.06 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange.

Overnight in Asia, a three-session tech rally in Tokyo ended as the benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 186.92 points, or 1.34%, to 16,268.03 points.

In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index declined 10.25 points, or 0.6%, to 15,777.72.

On Friday, Toronto stocks edged up higher as a strong day in the energy group and gold stocks offset a negative session in the information technology index.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 9.64, or 0.08%, to 11,604.82.

On the week, the index lost 0.13%.

Volume on the senior exchange was 365 million shares.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 26.18, up 1.12%, to 2,369.67.

In New York, U.S. stocks ended flat on as profit warnings and concerns about Iran’s threat to halt U.N. nuclear inspections offset a tame inflation reading in a government report.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 2.49 points, or 0.02%, to 10,959.87, the S&P 500 finished up 1.55, or 0.12%, at 1,287.61, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.35, or 0.02%, to 2,317.04.

Despite strong gains early, the week ended with the main indexes almost flat. The S&P was up 0.17%, the Dow was up 0.01% and the Nasdaq was up 0.50%.