North American stocks are expected to open higher Monday ahead of the kick off of second quarter earnings season and tomorrow’s decision on Canadian interest rates.

Aluminum giant Alcoa is due to kick off earnings season, reporting second-quarter results after the close of trade.

The Canadian dollar opened at US95.58¢, up 0.25 of a cent from Friday’s 30-year high close of 95.33 cents and just one day before the Bank of Canada makes a scheduled announcement on interest rates.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

Crude oil prices dropped Monday as traders took profits after crude futures rose US$1 a barrel on Friday. Light sweet crude for August delivery lost 40¢ to US$72.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

In M&A news, investors in the Chicago Board of Trade are due to vote on whether to accept a sweetened offer from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

In other earnings news, Lexmark International warned about second- and third-quarter earnings, blaming weaker-than-forecast sales of inkjet supplies and pricing.

Crude oil prices dropped Monday as traders took profits after crude futures rose US$1 a barrel on Friday. Light sweet crude for August delivery lost 40 cents to US$72.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7% in Tokyo to a new seven-year high. The FTSE 100 rose 0.2% in London.

Toronto stocks posted modest gains on Friday, lifted by continued strength in mining shares.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 39.29 points, or 0.3%, at 14,118.70.

For the week, the benchmark index added 1.5%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture Exchange composite index finished up 24.34 points at 3,249.35.

In New York, stocks gained after rising oil prices lifted energy shares and a strong jobs report reassured investors about the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 45.84 points, or 0.34%, at 13,611.68. The S&P 500 was up 5.04 points, or 0.33%, at 1,530.44. The Nasdaq composite index was up 9.86 points, or 0.37%, at 2,666.51.

On the week, the Dow gained 1.5% and the S&P climbed 1.8%. The Nasdaq advanced 2.4%, its best weekly performance since late-March.