The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market could be heading towards an early lift from rising oil and metal prices.

But with New York markets closed for the Martin Luther King holiday and no economic news on tap, it could be a lacklustre session.

The Canadian dollar moved 0.34 of a cent higher to US97.48¢.

In electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the February crude contract rose 37¢ to US$78.37 a barrel.

Crude prices fell every day last week, losing just over five%, as the first batch of fourth quarter earnings and economic data pointed to signs of continued weakness in the U.S. economy.

Falling energy stocks helped push the TSX down 2.2% last week.

The February gold contract gained $3.80 to US$1,134.30 an ounce while March copper rose six cents to US$3.42 a pound.

When Wall Street returns on Tuesday, the focus will turn towards the next batch of fourth quarter corporate earnings figures, including those from Citigroup Inc. and IBM Corp.

So far, earnings have been fairly mixed, with upside surprises from the likes of Intel Corp. offset by disappointments elsewhere, most notably Alcoa Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase.

In overseas trading, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average ended 1.2% lower while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9%.

London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.75%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.54% while the Paris CAC40 climbed 0.61%.

In corporate news, Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., parent company of XM Canada (TSX:XSR), reports 10% revenue growth to $13.7 million in the quarter ended Nov. 30, up from $12.5 million in the same quarter last year. Its said Friday that its operating loss was $1 million, compared with a loss of $2.9 million last year.

New Flyer Industries Inc. (TSX:NFI.UN) said Friday it received orders for 711 buses in the fourth quarter for a total of $308 million. The company said the orders included 506 new firm and option orders and 205 exercised options for buses.

Japan Airlines is expected to file for bankruptcy protection Tuesday, ending months-long speculation about its fate and launching a massive overhaul to shed the fat and inefficiency that hobbled Asia’s biggest airline. The carrier had debts of 1.5 trillion yen (US$16.5 billion) as of November.

A union representing British Airways cabin crew said Monday it will hold a strike vote in a dispute over pay, job security and working conditions. The Unite union said it would continue to negotiate with the airline while the vote by 13,000 cabin crew goes ahead starting next week.