Dec. 21, 2009 (Baystreet.ca) --
Canadian stocks saw moderate strength in early Monday morning trading as oil prices are higher ahead of the OPEC meeting. Stocks in Europe are moving in positive territory and U.S. futures are pointing upward.
Soon after 10 a.m. ET, the S&P/TSX Composite index had rallied 64.22 points, to begin the week at 11,527.62.
Crude oil prices are up as signs point toward the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) leaving output alone at its meeting this week.
In metal trading, gold had slid slightly, silver has added nine cents to $17.395 U.S. per ounce and copper is slightly higher at $3.146 U.S. per pound.
Agrium announced that it has extended the expiration date of its offer to acquire CF Industries Holdings for $45.00 U.S. in cash plus one Agrium share per CF share until midnight ET on January 22.
Dioro Exploration NL said that its directors recommended Dioro shareholders take no action in relation to the Ramelius's revised offer until directors have considered certain developments. Ramelius increased its offer on Friday.
Bank of Nova Scotia will meet Canadian regulators on Monday to resolve allegations of improper sale of asset backed commercial papers in 2007.
In a latest deal in merger space, mining companies Ontex Resources and Roxmark Mines announced shareholders' approval of their merger plans.
Gold producer New Dawn Mining reported wider loss in fiscal 2009 at $0.13 per share, as against $0.09 recorded in the previous year.
The Ontario Teacher Pension Plan said it would sell its 15% stake in security systems provider Alarm Force Industries to a private equity firm for $6 per share.
On the economic front, Canadian retail sales rose 0.8% in October, according to data released on Monday morning. The rise, which was in-line with expectations, was the eighth in 10 months.
Revised data showed a 1.1% increase in September.
Excluding autos, retail sales rose 0.2%, less than the 0.4% projected by experts and the 1% hike in the prior month.
Later in the week, traders will look for gross domestic product data from both sides of the border.
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.93 cents to 94.74 cents U.S.
ON BAYSTREET
All but one of the 14 TSX subgroups began the week in positive territory, with metals and mining stocks leading the charge with a 1.4% surge. Telecoms were next, up 1% and consumer staples gained 0.9%.
The one losing groups was gold, down 1.2%.
The TSX Venture Exchange was ahead 8.45 points to 1,434.26, while the Nasdaq Canada index moved forward 8.45 points to 747.97.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks posted early gains Monday as a new health care bill passed an important test vote in the U.S. Senate, commodities pushed higher and the dollar eased against the euro.
The Dow Jones Industrials zoomed out of the chute 106.34 points, an advance of 1%, to 10,435.23, while the broader S&P 500 surged 12.24 points to 1,114.71, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 23.56 points to 2,235.25.
Stocks finished higher on Friday after a choppy session, with technology shares rebounding. But most indexes fell over the final full week of trade in 2009.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners, said that part of the optimism on Monday comes from the health care bill, which had "cleared a major hurdle and is going for a vote as early as Christmas Eve."
The Senate voted to end debate on revisions to the bill, a key step toward finalization of the controversial legislation.
Citadel Broadcasting Co., the nation's third-largest radio group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday. The company, which has stations in 25 states, listed liabilities of $2.5 billion U.S. on assets of $1.4 billion U.S., according to court papers filed in the Southern District of New York.
More than 60% of Citadel's secured lenders backed the pre-negotiated bankruptcy, which will allow Citadel to clear $1.4 billion U.S. of debt and convert $2.1 billion U.S. of its secured credit facility into a new term loan.
The three largest unsecured creditors were JPMorgan Chase, Wilmington Trust Corp., and the Walt Disney Co., according to Sunday's filing.
Spyker, a Dutch automaker, said Sunday it had made a new offer to General Motors for the Swedish car brand Saab. GM had announced on Friday that it would let the car brand die after failing to reach a deal with potential buyers, including Spyker and Swedish carmaker Koenigsegg.
Spyker's offer is set to expire on Monday at 5 p.m. ET.
No U.S. economic reports are scheduled for release Monday.
Treasury prices dipped sharply, boosting yields on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.61% from Friday's 3.53%. Prices and yields move in opposite directions.
The price of a barrel of oil gained 55 cents to $73.83 U.S.
Gold prices subsided two dollars to $1,110 an ounce U.S.
