The Canadian Press


The Toronto stock market could find support from higher oil prices at the open as investors try to extend a rally to nine sessions in a row.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.3 of a cent to US96.41¢.

U.S. futures pointed to a positive open with investors looking to economic data coming out later in the week to provide reassurance about the strength of the American economic recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial futures rose 53 points to 10,431, the Nasdaq futures climbed 11.5 points to 1,830.75 while the S&P 500 futures were up 4.4 points to 1,110.6.

Oil prices edged above US$80 a barrel, with the March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange ahead 43¢ to US$80.24 a barrel.

The April gold contract on the Nymex inched up 50¢ to US$1,122.60 an ounce while the March copper contract in New York dipped 3¢ to US$3.33 a pound.

Signs of a strengthening U.S. economy helped push stocks sharply higher last week. The TSX ran ahead 2% to within a handful of points of where it started 2010 trading. And the Dow Jones industrial average rose 3%, posting its best weekly performance since early November after a string of strong earnings and economic reports.

Earnings and economic data will continue to provide traders with insight into the U.S. economy throughout the upcoming week.

In Canada, CIBC and National Bank kick off the quarterly earnings reporting season by the big Canadian banks.

And in the U.S., major retailers, including Macy’s Inc., Target Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Gap Inc. are set to release results this week.

On Monday, home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. reported fourth quarter profit rose 27%. The retailer said it expects sales to rise this year as the housing market and broader economy recover. But it forecast earnings for the prime spring quarter below analyst expectations.

An updated estimate on U.S. economic output for the fourth quarter is also scheduled for release this week. The gross domestic product report, due out Friday, is expected to show the economy grew at a pace of 5.6% during the final three months of 2009.

An initial reading of GDP showed growth of 5.7%.

Also, the latest reading on consumer confidence from the U.S. Conference Board will be released on Tuesday.

Investors will also focus on testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday and Thursday.

In particular, they will be interested to hear what Bernanke says about last week’s decision by the Fed to raise its discount rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75% — the discount rate is the rate banks pay for emergency loans from the Fed.

The discount rate rise last Thursday stoked some fears in the markets that the Fed was paving the way for possible increases in its benchmark funds rate later in the year.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index jumped 2.7% while Hong Kong’s main index climbed 2.4%.

Only Chinese shares lost ground, with the main Shanghai index retreating 0.5% in the first day of trade after weeklong Lunar New Year holidays.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.29%, Frankfurt’s DAX added 0.07% while the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.27%.

In other corporate news, Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) said its production of synthetic crude oil and bitumen during February and March will be below the company’s Feb. 2 guidance due to repairs required at a fire-damaged upgrader. Suncor said it expects combined production of synthetic crude and bitumen will average 210,000 barrels per day in February and 230,000 barrels per day in March while one of its upgraders is repaired. That’s down from earlier estimates of between 285,000 and 315,000 barrels a day.

The Ontario court overseeing the restructuring of Canwest Global approved a takeover bid for the company by Shaw Communications (TSX:SJR.B) late Friday despite a rival bid backed by the broadcaster’s founding family. The investment by Shaw still requires approval by several groups including Canwest (TSXV:CGS) creditors and the CRTC. Shaw must also reach a deal with U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, which is a partner with Canwest on some of its special channel assets.

German airline Lufthansa cancelled about 800 flights Monday, affecting some 10,000 passengers worldwide, after more than 4,000 pilots began a four-day walkout over job security.