North American stocks may opern lower Monday after declines in overseas markets despite a wave of merger activity.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada said holesalers ended the third quarter on a bit of a down note as the industry recorded its largest monthly drop so far this year.

Despite the drop, sales growth in the third quarter accelerated thanks to the gains made in the previous two months.

The Canadian dollar opened at US87.36¢, up 0.14 of a cent.

The U.S. Conference Board’s Leading Economic Indicators for October will be released at 10:00 ET.

Crude-oil prices fell 44¢ at US$58.53 a barrel.

In M&A news, TD Bank announced a $3.6 billion bid to privatize its U.S. subsidiary TD Banknorth Inc. The cash offer of US$32.33 per share has been approved by the boards of both banks.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold agreed to buy rival copper producer Phelps Dodge in a US$25.9 billion cash-and-stock deal, marking a major long-term bet that metal prices will remain strong.

The real-estate arm of private-equity firm Blackstone Group last night reached a US$20 billion deal to acquire Equity Office Properties Trust, largest office-building owner and manager in the United States.

The Nasdaq Stock Market made an offer to buy the rest of the London Stock Exchange, valuing the European bourse’s shares at £2.7 billion (US$5.1 billion). Nasdaq said the deal would create the world’s largest equity market by listings.

Bank of America has agreed to buy U.S. Trust from Charles Schwab for US$3.3 billion, creating a new leader in the business of managing the money of high net worth investors..

In today earnings news, Lowe’s posted an 11% gain in its fiscal third-quarter net profit despite the weak housing market, but the company cut its full-year earnings forecast.

Asian-Pacific shares fell shaply Monday. In Japan, where the Nikkei 225 Index shed 365.79 points, or 2.3%, to finish at 15725.94.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index dropped 228 points, or 1.19%, to close at 18,954.63.

European stock markets also saw losses. The FTSE 100 fell 0.3% in London, the German DAX Xetra Index eased 0.2% and the French CAC-40 Index lost 0.6% in midday trading.

Toronto stocks posted modest gains Friday, as the energy sector lifted the broader market, despite falling oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index inched ahead 7.02 points, or 0.06%, to 12,372.87.

For the week, the benchmark index recorded a slight gain of 32 points.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange dipped 4.21 points, or 0.16%, to 2,613.58.

In New York, the Dow posted another record day on strong corporate reports, despite a fresh report on weakness in the U.S. housing sector.

Housing starts fell 14.6% in October, while building permits dropped 6.3%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.74 points to 12,342.56, a fresh record high. The S&P 500 Index rose 1.44 point to 1,401.20. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 3.20 points to 2,445.86.

For the week, all three indices registered gains: the Dow by 1.9%, the S&P 500 by 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite 2.3%.