U.S. stock futures rose Monday after a pullback in oil prices.

Oil fell below US$143 a barrel in Asia amid signs of easing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

The near-month contract for light sweet crude was down US$2.17 to US$143.12 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after going as low as US$142.01 overnight in Asia.

Here at home, the total value of building permits increased for the second consecutive month in May, despite a substantial decline in the residential sector.

Statistics Canada said contractors took out $6.6 billion in permits in May, up 1.1% from April and the highest value for permits since October 2007. The total was 6.7% above the monthly average for 2007.

The Canadian dollar opened at US98.09¢, up 0.05 of a cent.

In M&A news, brewer InBev turned up the heat in its US$46 billion bid for Anheuser-Busch, announcing Monday that it will attempt to remove the company’s entire board.

NBC Universal and two partners have reached a deal to buy the Weather Channel from Landmark Communications Inc. NBC is a unit of General Electric Co., which reports its quarterly results Friday.

In Canadian corporate news, Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc.) is packaging its assets not related to the Taxus coronary stent into a new subsidiary, Angiotech Pharmaceutical Interventions Inc. Private equity firms Ares Management and New Leaf Venture Partners will invest between $200 million and $300 million in the new enterprise. Angiotech will use the money to pay down debt.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.9% Monday to 13,360.04, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong advanced 2.3% to 21,913.06.

In Europe London’s FTSE 100 index was up 0.6% near midday and Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC-40 were also higher by about 0.6%.

Toronto stocks fell Friday, finishing off a tough week for the senior equity index, as the market was weighed down by sinking resources and financials sectors, despite a strong showing in information technology and the telecommunications index.

Meanwhile, New York markets were closed in observance of Independence Day in the U.S.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 133.18, or 0.94%, to 14,010.39. For the week, the senior index gave up 344 points, or 2.40%.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange rose 3.28, or 0.13%, to 2,562.99.