The Toronto stock market headed for a higher open Monday as commodity prices got a lift from a solid U.S. employment report.

New York futures pointed to a higher open after the U.S. Labour Department reported on Friday that employers added 162,000 jobs in March. It was the biggest gains since the recession began in December 2007 and investors were particularly relieved that 123,000 of those jobs were created in the private sector.

The Dow Jones industrial futures gained 38 points to 10,898, the Nasdaq futures rose 11 points to 1,963 and the S&P 500 futures were ahead 4.7 points to 1,178.4.

Monday was the first opportunity for traders to react to the employment news as the data was released when markets in North America and many other areas were closed for the Good Friday holiday.

Oil prices rose above $85 a barrel Monday, extending gains from last week as investors bet an improving U.S. job market will herald growing crude demand. The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 48 cents to $85.35 a barrel.

The June gold contract on the Nymex rose $2.50 to US$1,128.60 an ounce while May copper added three cents to US$3.62 a pound.

The Canadian dollar edged further towards parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time since July 17, 2008, when the loonie briefly moved above a full U.S. cent during intraday trading.

The currency was up 0.26 of a cent to 99.43 cents US.

Economists say the loonie could get a shove towards parity with the greenback at the end of the week when the Canadian employment report for March is released.

“If we see another strong solid jobs report for Canada next Friday, we could definitely see the impetus for the Canadian dollar going through parity,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Meanwhile, a U.S. private trade group’s measure of the service sector, which covers 80% of non-farm jobs in the country, is due out later Monday. Economists forecast the Institute for Supply Management’s service index will likely show further expansion, growing to 54 last month from 53 in February.

In corporate news, Patheon Inc. (TSX:PTI) has announced a $280-million offering of senior secured notes. The drug manufacturing company, which has its head office in the Toronto area, says proceeds from the offering will be used to repay debts.

Fronteer Development Group Inc. (TSX:FRG) said a $2.7-million drill program is planned for this year at Halilaga, a copper and gold deposit in northwestern Turkey. The project is a joint venture between Fronteer and a subsidiary of Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B), which owns 60% and is the project operator.

Tempur-Pedic International Inc. (NYSE:TPX) has acquired its Canadian distributor, Tempur Canada, the Kentucky-based mattress and pillow company announced Monday. Financial terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed.

Trading volume in Asia was light as many markets were closed Monday, including Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.12%, Frankfurt’s DAX was up 1.33% while the Paris CAC 40 moved ahead 1.52%.