U.S. stock futures advanced Monday, as Bank of America earnings beat analyst estimates and M&A activity picked up in the pharmaceutical sector.

Bank of America today reported a 41% profit fall for the second quarter but still beat Wall Street earnings estimates.

Earnings reports from Apple and American Express are due later today.

In today’s M&A news, DundeeWealth Inc. announced the completion of two acquisitions that will diversify its distribution platform in Canada and the United States.

DundeeWealth has completed its acquisition of 60% of Toronto-based institutional money manager Aurion Capital Management Inc. In a separate transaction, DundeeWealth acquired 89% of BHR Fund Advisors, L.P., a US-based mutual fund manager and distribution platform founded in 2006.

Swiss drug maker Roche Holding AG has offered to buy the roughly 44% stake of the biotechnology company Genentech that it doesn’t already own for US$43.7 billion.

Separately, Sanofi-Aventis said it is paying over US$500 million to buy Australia’s market leader in vitamins.

Yahoo announced plans to expand its board by two members and appoint Carl Icahn to the board to settle a proxy battle with the activist investor.

Oil futures turned higher following declines last week, rising US$1.85 to US$130.73 a barrel. Gold futures also rose, up US$8.50 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar opened at US99.57¢, up 0.14 cent.

Overseas, Asian stock markets were generally higher, with gains of 3% in both the Hong Kong and Shanghai main indexes, although Tokyo’s Nikkei index declined 0.7%.

The FTSE 100 index was up 0.6% early in the afternoon in London, while the German DAX advanced 1.1% and the Paris CAC-40 added almost 1%.

On Friday, banking stocks boosted the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index higher following good news from U.S. banking giant Citigroup.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 55.71 points at 13,515.96. For the week, the index fell 1.4%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index added 15.43 points, or 0.68%, to end at 2,298.74.

In New York, technology stocks dragged down the Nasdaq, while Citigroup’s smaller-than-expected loss pushed up the Dow.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 49.91 points, or 0.44%, to 11,496.57. The S&P 500 was little changed, up just 0.36 of a point, or 0.03%, at 1,260.68.

However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index, meanwhile, fell 29.52 points, or 1.28%, to close at 2,282.78.

For the week, the Dow rose 3.5%. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, while the Nasdaq was up 1.9%.