The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared headed for a weak opening Monday as commodity prices lost ground amid worries about sovereign debt.

Worries rose following a warning from credit ratings agency Moody’s that Britain, along with the U.S., are more likely than their Triple A peers Germany and France to lose their top rating.

Moody’s said that the global economic recovery remains “fragile” in several large, advanced economies. These same countries have also implemented the most aggressive stimulus packages to help their economies deal with severe economic downturns.

Crude and metal prices moved lower with the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange down 57 cents to US$80.67 a barrel.

The May copper contract on the Nymex was down four cents to US$3.34 a pound while the April bullion contract rose US$4.50 to US$1,106.20 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.07 of a cent to 98.27 cents US. The loonie rose more than half a cent Friday against the U.S. dollar in the wake of a much better than expected reading on Canadian employment during February.

U.S. futures were lower as the Federal Reserve gets set to meet Tuesday to discuss interest-rate policy. While it is unlikely to raise a key interest rate from historic lows, traders will be looking for clues in the Fed’s statement as to when it might make a move.

Investors have been factoring in an eventual rate hike, but any signs that the move will be made sooner rather than later is likely to – at least in the short-term – hurt stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial futures gained 21 points to 10,552, the Nasdaq futures ahead four point to 1,920.25 and the S&P 500 futures were up 3.10 to 1,143.5.

In corporate news, Phillips-Van Heusen says it will buy privately held Tommy Hilfiger in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about US$3 billion, creating one of the world’s biggest clothing companies.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average finished little changed while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 0.6%.

London’s FTSE100 index was off 0.11%, the Frankfurt DAX was off 0.01% and the Paris CAC 40 was down 0.19%.