U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open Monday after the U.S. government announced plans to bolster Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury announced Sunday that the mortgage giants will get new lines of credit from Washington.

In M&A news, brewing giant Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser and Bud Light, has agreed to a takeover by Belgian-based global brewer InBev SA in a US$52 billion deal creating the world’s largest brewer.

Here at home, Bombardier launched its new fuel-efficient C-Series jet, designed to carry 100 to 149 passengers and intended to enter service in 2013. The assembly work is expected to involve 2,500 jobs.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US98.96¢, off 0.11 cent from Friday.

Oil prices eased, with light sweet crude for August delivery off US$1.39 at US$143.69 a barrel after going as low as US$142.49 overnight.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.2% to close at 13,010.16. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.8% to 22,014.46.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 was up 1.9% early in the afternoon in London. Germany’s DAX added 1.3% and the French CAC-40 advanced 1.7%.

On Friday, the Toronto Stock Exchange’s main index ended lower after a volatile session as worries in the U.S. financial sector spilled across the border.

The S&P/TSX composite index slipped 34.78 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 13,709.10.

The TSX finanicals group dropped 2.2%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 8.21 points, or 0.34%, to end at 2,391.86.

In New York, U.S. stocks tumbled on fears about the stability of major mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, combined with record oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128.48 points, or 1.14%, to 11,100.54. The 500 Index fell 13.90 points, or 1.11%, to 1,239.49, and the tech heavy Nasdaq composite index shed 18.77 points, or 0.83%, to 2,239.08.

For the week, the Dow dropped 1.7%, its fourth straight weekly decline. The S&P fell 1.9%, and the Nasdaq dipped 0.3%.