North American stocks appear ready to rise at Monday’s open amid a cooling off of oil prices and ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. mid-term elections.

Crude oil futures dropped back below US$59 a barrel in electronic trading. December crude declined 45¢ to US$58.69 a barrel.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said construction intentions slipped in September, but they were still at their third highest monthly level ever, thanks in part to another record high for building permits in Alberta.

The government agency said builders took out $5.7 billion worth of permits, down 2.5% from August. The decline occurred mostly in the residential sector, as intentions in the non-residential sector remained virtually unchanged.

September’s total was just below the $5.8 billion worth of permits issued in August, which was the second highest level on record. The record high occurred in December 2005.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.08¢ Monday morning, down 0.47 of a cent from Friday’s close.

In today’s M&A news, Four Seasons Hotels said it received a US$3.7 billion takeover offer from investors that include its current chief executive, Isadore Sharp, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

Irish airline Ryanair Holdings led an advance in European stock markets after the low-cost carrier improved its earnings outlook for the year.

The London-based FTSE 100 gained 45.7 points, 0.74% to 6,193.8, Germany’s DAX added 41.64 point, 0.67% to 6,282.79 and the Paris-based CAC 40 was up 25.37 points, 0.48%, to 5,361.67.

Asian markets ended mixed Monday. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index surged 186.86 points, or 1%, to close at 18,936.55.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 14.74 points, or 0.09%, to finish at 16,364.76 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

On Friday, Toronto stocks closed higher for a second straight day as higher oil prices lifted energy stocks,

The S&P/TSX composite index jumped 108.31 points to 12,239.04.

That added up to a modest loss of 29.82 points on the week.

Income trusts moved higher after two sessions of sharp losses. The trust sector rose 4% Friday after falling 4% Thursday and more than 12% on Wednesday, following Ottawa’s announcement that it plans to tax trusts like regular corporations.


The TSX Venture composite index added 44.96 points to 2,641.91.

On Wall Street, the sharp rise in oil prices helped U.S. stocks lose early strength despite strong employment data that had eased concerns that the economy is slowing too quickly.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 32.5 points to 11,986.04.

The Nasdaq composite lost 3.23 points to 2,330.79 while the S&P 500 gave back 3.04 points to 1,364.3.

For the week, the Dow slid 0.9% and the S&P 500 fell nearly 1%. The Nasdaq dropped 0.8%.