Wall Street stock futures were higher on Monday, after an upgrade to the financial sector by Goldman Sachs.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs indicated that they are more optimistic about large U.S. banks, raising their coverage view on the sector to attractive from neutral.

On today’s U.S. economic data calendar, the Institute for Supply Management’s service-sector index is due at 10:00 ET. Economists expect the index to have risen to 50 from 48.4 the previous month. A reading over 50 indicates growth in the sector.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar climbed to US93.03¢, up from US92.38¢.

In corporate news, Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. has agreed to be taken over by TransAlta Corp. in a $1.6 billion deal.

In commodities news, benchmark crude for November deliver was down 45¢ at US$69.50 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 87¢ to settle at US$69.95 on Friday.

Asian markets were mixed Monday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 57.38 points, or 0.6%, to 9,674.49, sliding to an 11-week low.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 53.58, or 0.3%, to 20,429.07. Mainland China markets are closed for a weeklong holiday and reopen Friday.

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2%. Germany’s DAX gained 0.5% and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.3%.

Stocks in Toronto continued to slide on Friday, bringing the total decline for the first two days of October to nearly 450 points for the benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 113.43 points, or 1%, to close at 10,958.33. For the week, the benchmark index fell more than 2%.

Financial sector stocks led Friday’s declines, finishing the session down 2%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index also incurred losses on Friday, slipping 4.59 points, or 0.4%, to close at 1,244.12.

Stocks in New York also retreated on Friday after the U.S. Labour Department reported that employers eliminated more jobs than expected last month, sending the unemployment rate to 9.8%. Consumer discretionary stocks took a hefty hit on the disappointing employment news.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.61 points, or 0.2%, to 9,487.67. For the week, the blue chips fell 1.8%.

The S&P 500 Index shed 4.64 points, or 0.5%, to 1,025.21, down 1.8% from the week-ago close.

The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 9.37 points, or 0.5%, to 2,048.11, down 2.1% for the week.

IE