The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared set to open higher on Monday as commodity prices rose and Canadian fertilizer giant Agrium Inc. (TSX:AGU) extended a shareholder deadline to take over a competitor.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.85 of a cent to US94.66¢.

Agrium is sticking to its US$5-billion takeover offer for CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF), but gave CF’s shareholders another month to tender their stock. CF’s board of directors has consistently rejected the proposed deal.

In economic news, Statistics Canada will release retail sales data for October in the morning.

Meanwhile, commodities prices moved higher, with crude oil for the January contract, which expires later on Monday, rose 13¢ to settle at $73.49. The February contract was up 54¢ to $74.96.

The February bullion contract rose $5 to US$1,116.70 an ounce on the Nymex, as the U.S. dollar remained mixed against other major currencies.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed 9.66 points lower to 11,463.40 on Thursday.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 40, or 0.4%, to 10,311. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures increased 5.60, or 0.5%, to 1,103.30, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 10.25, or 0.6%, to 1,817.25.

In corporate news, mining equipment maker Bucyrus International Inc. said it will acquire Terex Corp.’s mining equipment division for $1.3 billion in cash.

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA said it will buy Chattem Inc., a U.S. maker of consumer health-care products, for about $1.9 billion in cash. The deal values Chattem at $93.50 per share, a 34% premium over Friday’s closing price.

Overseas Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.3%, Germany’s DAX index gained 0.9%, and France’s CAC-40 rose 1.2%. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.4%.