North American stocks may open slightly lower Monday amid weakness in overseas markets ahead of a full slate of U.S. economic data due out this week.

There are no major economic releases this morning from Canada or the United States.

The Canadian dollar opened trading at US90.28¢, up 0.15 of a cent from Friday’s close.

Crude oil futures fell $1.44 to US$71.07 a barrel in early trading, the lowest price seen since June 21. Prices dropped as concerns eased about threats to U.S. oil supply after a storm in the Caribbean weakened.

In M&A news, energy transportation firm Kinder Morgan agreed to be bought out by a group of investors, including its chief executive, for US$15 billion plus the assumption of US$7 billion in debt.

In overseas markets, Germany’s DAX 30 eased 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 Index shed 0.4%. Markets in the United Kingdom were closed for a holiday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 Average dropped 1.1%, or 176.07 points to finish at 15,762.59 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 33.16 points to 16,922.29.

Toronto stocks finished slightly lower on Friday as gains in energy shares were offset by profit-taking in the financial sector.

The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 12.47 points, or 0.1%, at close at 12,119.83.

The benchmark index gained 0.6% on the week.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index jumped 39.21 points, or 1.48%, to end at 2,685.42.

On Wall Street, blue chip stocks fell as crude oil prices climbed.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.41 points, or 0.18%, to end at 11,284.05. The S&P 500 index dipped just 0.97 of a point, or 0.07%, to close at 1,295.09. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 3.18 points, or 0.15%, to finish at 2,140.29.

For the week, the Dow ended down 0.86%, Nasdaq fell 1.09% and the S&P 500 dropped 0.55%.