Early indicators were mostly positive for North American stock markets as a couple of big mergers dominated the news.

Wall Street futures suggested a positive start for regular trading while European indexes were mixed.

Prices in Tokyo and Hong Kong were lifted by Wall Street’s strong showing last week as most Asian markets closed higher.

Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average of 225 selected issues advanced 52.31 points, or 0.44% to 11,925.36 points – its highest close since April 28, 2004. Sony Corp. jumped 1.5% after its board of directors replaced the company’s chief executive.

In Hong Kong, the share market rose slightly on Monday on Wall Street’s advance, but many traders sat out ahead of results announcements by major companies. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 41.17 points, or 0.30% to 13,771.95.

In merger news, Yellow Pages Group of Montreal announced it is paying $2.55 billion for the company that publishes Telus SuperPages in Western Canada. Through subsidiary Yellow Pages Income Fund, the group has signed a deal to acquire Advertising Directory Solutions Holdings Inc., Canada’s second-largest directory publisher, from Bain Capital of Boston.

In London, British defence contractor BAE Systems PLC said it has agreed to buy U.S. rival United Defense Industries for nearly US$4 billion.

Meanwhile, Boeing Co. said its board forces the resignation of CEO Harry Stonecipher because of a relationship he had with a female executive at the company.

In other news, credit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp. has agreed to buy Louisiana regional bank Hibernia Corp. for $5.35 billion US in a move designed to help it expand from direct mail marketing to branch banking outlets, a Capitol One spokesman said Sunday.

Crude futures fell Monday, but remained above US$53 a barrel, after the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said over the weekend that the market is “well supplied.” Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell 55 cents to $53.23 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midmorning in Europe. Heating oil prices dropped nearly 2 cents to $1.4639 a gallon.

On Friday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index finished up 67.67 points at 9,927.2, its best level since the autumn of 2000, with a gain of almost 186 points during the week. The TSX Venture Exchange rose 12.47 points to 2,037.77 at the end of a week in which the junior market index cruised over 2,000 for the first time, driven by strong demand for base metals and energy.

Wall Street’s Dow industrial average came within a handful of points of closing above 11,000 for the first time since mid-2001 before retreating somewhat to close up 107.52 points to 10,940.55. The blue-chip index gained 99 points on the week. The Nasdaq moved ahead 12.21 points to 2,070.61, up five points on the week, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 11.65 to 1,222.12.

The Canadian dollar gained 0.86 of a cent to US81.26¢ as the U.S. dollar sold off despite the employment report, which beat expectations.