Trading on the Toronto Stock Exchanges is expected to be light Monday ahead of bank earnings season and with U.S. markets closed in observance of Memorial Day.

Canada’s major banks begin to release their second quarter results on Tuesday.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty meets with provincial and territorial finance ministers and treasurers in Chelsea, Quebec.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.83¢, down 0.43 of a cent from Friday’s close.

In M&A news, Italian auto maker Fiat and Canadian auto parts company Magna International both sweetened bids for GM German subsidiary Opel.

In commodities news, benchmark crude for July delivery was down 73¢ to US$60.94 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 121.19 points, or 1.3%, to 9,347.00. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.4% to 17,121.82.

In Europe, Germany’s DAX index traded down 0.8% at 4881.54, while the French CAC-40 index fell 0.4% to 3,213.36. Markets in the UK are down for a bank holiday.

On Friday, a boost in resource stocks pulled the Toronto Stock Exchange higher, as oil futures extended their weekly gain to more than 8%.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 43.83 points, or 0.4%, to close at 9,993.42. For the week, the benchmark index rose 2.4%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index added 6.66 points, or 0.6%, to close at 1,096.51.

The Canadian dollar surged nearly a cent and a half, to close at US89.26¢.

South of the border, U.S. stocks erased earlier gains to finish in negative territory on concerns about a potential bankruptcy for General Motors Corp.

The Dow Jones industrial average finished down 14.81 points, or 0.2%, at 8,277.32. For the week, the blue-chip index added 0.5%.

The S&P 500 index fell 1.33 points, or 0.2%, to end at 887, up 0.5% for the week.

The Nasdaq composite index slipped 3.24 points, or 0.2%, to 1,692.01 on Friday, but registered gains of 0.7% for the week.

IE