Indicators worldwide were positive for North American stock markets early Monday after the three-day Easter weekend.

Wall Street futures suggested a strong start for regular trading as investors reacted to last week’s robust jobs data from the U.S. Labour Department — in which nonfarm jobs rose by 180,000 in March, above forecasts of 135,000 — and a report that Dow Chemical Co. could be the target of a US$50-billion buyout offer from a consortium of Middle Eastern and U.S. buyout firms.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.89¢, down 0.02 of a cent. On Thursday, the loonie had risen US0.64¢.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell US44¢ to US$63.84 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at midday in Europe.

Overseas, in Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 258.98 points, or 1.48%, to finish at 17,743.76 points. Friday’s figures showing U.S. employers boosted hiring in March raised optimism about the U.S. economy, Japan’s biggest export market.

Markets in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Philippines were closed for Easter Monday.

Toronto stocks moved lower on Thursday, modestly off Wednesday’s record close as investors locked in some gains after three strong days of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 23.29, or 0.17%, to 13,425.02.

Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were down.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange rose 16.46, or 0.51%, to 3,257.43.

In New York, markets moved modestly higher, in a session that saw relatively low trading activity.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 30.15, or 0.24%, to 12,560.20, the Nasdaq composite index rose 12.65, or 0.51%, to 2,471.34, and the S&P 500 lifted 4.39, or 0.30%, to 1,443.76.