U.S. stocks are poised to extend their year-end rally Monday.

The last full week of trading of the year will feature a raft of economic data. Housing starts, durable goods, and the Federal Reserve’s preferred reading on inflation, the core personal consumer expenditure index, are on tap.

In today’s economic news, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the current account deficit widened in the third quarter to US$225.6 billion, or 6.8% of GDP, as oil imports and other foreign purchases rose.

Here at home, October saw heavy investment of $6.8 billion in foreign securities by Canadians, a continuation of a trend dating back to February 2005, Statistics Canada reported today.

Meanwhile, foreign investors reduced their holdings of Canadian securities by $5.0 billion in October, dominated by a large foreign takeover of a Canadian company whose foreign portfolio shareholders exchanged their shares for cash.

Separately, StatsCan said the composite leading index rose 0.5% in November, nearly double its upward-revised gain in October. This is the strongest sign yet that the recent slowdown in growth should not be prolonged.

The Canadian dollar opened at 86.54¢, up 0.13 of a cent.

In today’s business news, BCE Inc. is selling satellite operator in a $3.42 billion deal. Telesat Canada said its parent company, which also owns Bell Canada, made the sale to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and U.S.-based Loral Space and Communications Inc.

On the earnings front this week, Morgan Stanley, Circuit City Stores, Bed Bath & Beyond, FedEx and Nike are scheduled to report. Database software maker Oracle on Monday is expected to post higher quarterly profit and sales, helped by revenue from a number of acquisitions.

Oil prices retreated from highs reached last week as traders took profits but stayed above US$63 a barrel Monday. Light sweet crude for January delivery fell 33¢ to US$63.10 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

Asian markets rose Monday. Hong Kong’s blue-chip Hang Seng Index climbed 82.26 points, or 0.4%, to 19,192.91.

In Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index added 47.8 points, or 0.28%, to finish at 16,962.11 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index plunged more than 155 points Friday, as investors moved to lock in profits one day after the index set an all-time record high.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 155.50 points, or 1.19%, to 12,866.27, dropping well below the 13,000-point plateau it had breached for the first time yesterday. For the week, the market was down 0.26%

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index dipped down just 1.22 points, or 0.04%, to 2,812.77.

In New York, markets advanced following the release of economic data that suggested inflation pressures are in check.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 28.76 points at 12,445.52, after posting an intraday high of 12,454. The S&P 500 rose 1.60 points to 1,427.09, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 3.35 points to 2,457.20.

For the week, the Dow lifted 1.1%, the S&P 500 advanced 1.2% and the Nasdaq rose 0.8%.