Wall Street stock futures were modestly higher Monday as markets left a behind a dismal October. Trading is expected to be light, with many investors sitting on the sidelines ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.

Today’s U.S. economic calendar includes readings on manufacturing activity, construction spending and auto sales.

Here at home, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts to discuss the global financial crisis and other challenges facing the Canadian economy.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US83.72¢, up 0.70 cent from Friday.

Quarterly results from Goodyear Tire & Rubber, MasterCard and Viacom are also expected.

In commodities news, oil futures fell 79¢ to US$67.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas markets were higher Monday. European stocks advanced, with banks in the lead amid hopes for an interest-rate cut later this week.

The UK’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.4%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.9%, and France’s CAC-40 edged up 0.2%.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 2.7%, while Japanese markets were closed for a holiday.


On Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange finished a wild month by shedding more value, as further hits to commodity prices put the month of October into the record books for sizable losses.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 93.45 points, or 0.95% to close at 9,762.76.

The benchmark was up 5% on the week, but in October it fell 16.9%, its biggest monthly decline since August 1998.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture index rose 35.55 points, or 4%, to close at 915.30.

Meanwhile in New York, another day of stock market gains helped the main indexes post gains for the week, but didn’t do much to improve the month’s dismal performance.