U.S. stock futures advanced Monday following news of a possible US$5 billion injection for a major mortgage lender ahead of the start of earnings season.

According to a report in the Wall Street Jounal, U.S. mortgage lender Washington Mutual is close to a deal to get a US$5 billion injection from private-equity firm TPG and other investors.

Here at home, construction intentions in Canada cooled for a fourth consecutive month in February, on the heels of a sharp decline in the value of building permits for non-residential construction in Ontario.

Municipalities issued $5.8 billion worth of building permits, down 1% from January, Statistics Canada reported today.

Intentions peaked in May and June 2007 at $7 billion.

The Canadian dollar traded at US99.25¢, up 0.17 cent from Friday.

In today’s earnings news, Alcoa will report first-quarter results, kicking off U.S. earnings season.

In M&A news, Microsoft warned Yahoo Saturday that if a deal on its US$41 billion buyout offer wasn’t reached by April 26, the software maker would launch a hostile takeover at a less attractive price.

Crude oil was up 92¢ at US$107.15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold advanced US$7 to US$920.20 an ounce.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.2% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng added 1.3%.
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The FTSE 100 was up 0.6% near midday in London, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.8% and the Paris CAC-40 advanced 1%.

Toronto stocks ended the week on a strong note on Friday, lifted by energy and materials shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 116.90 points, or 0.86%, at 13,668.19 with six of its 10 main groups higher.

The benchmark was up 3.3% for the week.
The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 23.52 points, or 0.94%, to finish at 2,532.55.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average dipped 16.61 points, or 0.13%, to 12,609.42. The S&P 500 was up 1.09 points, or 0.08%, at 1,370.40. The Nasdaq composite index added 7.68 points, or 0.32%, to 2,370.98.

For the week, the Dow up 3.2%; the S&P 500 up 4.2%; and the Nasdaq up 4.9%.