North American markets may post modest gains Monday, but trading is expected to remain thin ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.

In business news, shares of PeopleSoft jumped 11% to US$23 in pre-market trading after Oracle, Redwood City, Calif., sweetened its bid for PeopleSoft, a rival business-software maker, to US$24 a share from US$21 a share. Orale said the new bid was its “best and final” offer.

In economic news, U.S. personal income grew modestly in September, while consumer spending rebounded after a slight dip the previous month.

Personal income rose 0.2% in September after rising a revised 0.3% in August, the Commerce Department said Monday. August personal income was earlier reported as having risen 0.4%. Personal consumption rose 0.6%, after dropping by a revised 0.1% in August.

August personal consumption was originally reported as being unchanged from the previous month. Economists had forecast personal income would rise 0.3% and spending would rise 0.6%.

The Commerce Department said the August and September estimates of personal income were effected by hurricanes in the Southeast, but the quantifiable impacts were largely offsetting.

Later this morning, the Institute for Supply Management will release its report on manufacturing at 10:00 ET.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The price of crude vaulted above the US$52 mark Monday morning on news that a strike in Nigeria could affect output in the world’s seventh-largest oil exporter.

In early trading, the Canadian dollar was down 0.31 of a cent at US81.79¢.

Some good economic news and strong performance by energy and financial stocks sent Canadian markets higher Friday, while U.S. markets managed to rally late in the day to extend their winning streak.

At close on Friday, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 89.93 or 1.02% at 8,870.97, while the TSX Venture composite ndex finished up 7.11 points or 0.44% at 1m630.02. For the week, the S&P/TSX was up 10.3%, while the TSXV lost almost 2%.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average ended up 22.93 points, or 0.23% at 10,027.47. The S&P 500 Index rose 2.76 points or 0.24% to 1m130.20. However, the technology-laced Nasdaq composite index dipped 0.75 of a point or 0.04% to close at 1,974.99. All the major indices rose for the week, with the Dow gaining 2.76%, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 each rose 3.13%.

The Canadian dollar finished above the US82¢ level for the first time in more than 12 years. The loonie closed at US82.10¢ US, up 0.38¢, its highest close since September 1992. The jump came after Statistics Canada reported Canadian gross domestic product increased by 0.5% in August after a 0.2% advance in July.