Stocks open up 131 pts ahead of busy earnings week; C$, oil down

(Canadian Press)

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market headed for a flat open Monday morning as oil prices dipped and investors in Canada and the U.S. brace for another busy week of corporate earnings reports.

American futures pointed to a slightly higher open as investors also await the U.S. government's first reading on the economy in the third quarter later in the week.

The Dow Jones industrial futures rose 13 points points to 9,944, the Nasdaq futures edged up 0.5 or a point to 1,752.5 and the S&P 500 futures added 0.9 of a point to 1,077.8.

The Canadian dollar continued to back away after Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney reiterated late last week that the currency's recent sharp rise threatens to derail the economic recovery. And he made it clear that intervention in currency markets to control that surge is a possibility.

The loonie was down 0.58 cent to 94.69 cents US.

Oil prices held firm above the US$80 a barrel mark, although the December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange dipped 14 cents to US$80.36 a barrel.

Other commodities were mixed as the December bullion contract on the Nymex slipped $2.20 to US$1,054.20 an ounce while December copper was up three cents to US$3.06 a pound.

The Toronto market is little changed since the beginning of the month even as the U.S. third quarter earnings season has seen many companies beat earnings expectations.

The TSX lost just over one per cent last month, led by declines in the energy and financial sectors as investors took some profits with the main index still up more than 50 per cent since the lows of early March.

Now in the coming week investors will take in reports from Canadian market heavyweights including utility TransAlta Corp. (TSX:TA), Canadian Pacific Railway (TSX:CP), Imperial Oil (TSX:IMO) and Nexen Inc. (TSX:NXY).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department's report on third-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the economy's health, is due out on Thursday. Economists predict the economy grew at an annual rate of 3.2 per cent in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. That would mark the first quarter of growth after four straight declines.

Asian stocks closed higher as South Korea's central bank said economic growth accelerated to 2.9 per cent in the third quarter from the previous quarter - the fastest growth since the first quarter of 2002.

Asia's fourth largest economy has been bolstered by government stimulus spending, low interest rates, and a falling won which boosts exports. Massive stimulus spending also played a part in China's economic growth accelerating in the third quarter, according to official figures last week.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.8 per cent, South Korea's Kospi advanced one per cent, Hong Kong's market was closed for a holiday and China's Shanghai benchmark gained 0.1 per cent.

London's FTSE 100 index inched up 0.12 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.34 per cent while the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 0.18 per cent.

In other corporate news, The New York Times is reporting Rogers Communications (TSX:RCI.B) has made a multimillion dollar investment to become a minority stakeholder in Vuguru, a web video studio being spun off by former Disney chairman Michael Eisner.

The studio is currently held within Eisner's private media investment company Tornante. The Times says it expects a formal announcement today.

Jien Canada Mining Ltd. says it still holds the best offer to take over Canadian Royalties Inc. (TSX:CZZ) in a $192-million proposed deal and urged securityholders Monday to tender securities before the Oct. 27 deadline. Jaguar Financial (TSX:JFC) has said it will attempt to block the deal because debtholders would receive only 80 per cent of their principal back, not 101 per cent as required under the debt agreements.