Canadian shares are likely to open on a somewhat subdued note Monday morning amid weakness in European markets and sluggish commodity prices.
The focus will be on a potential new U.S. infrastructure deal announced late last week, and updates about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus infection in Europe.
According to reports, Republican Senate negotiators are optimistic about the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill after President Joe Biden withdrew his threat to veto the measure unless a separate Democratic spending plan also passes Congress.
The Canadian market ended marginally up on Friday after spending much of the day's session in negative territory as investors looked for direction amid a lack of triggers.
The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a small gain of 15.14 points or 0.07% at 20,230.26. The index, which slipped to a low of 20,146.40 early on in the session, hit a high of 20,240.23 a few minutes before the closing bell. The Index gained about 1.15% in the week.
Brookfield Business Partners L.P. (BBU.UN) together with institutional partners today announced an agreement to acquire Modulaire Group for approximately $5 billion. Modulaire is a leading provider of modular leasing services in Europe and Asia-Pacific catering to the needs of a diversified customer base across the industrial, infrastructure and public sectors
Asian stocks ended on a muted note Monday, as inflation continued to be a worry and a spike in coronavirus cases across several markets in the region over the weekend led to lockdowns and restrictions in some areas.
European stocks are down in negative territory amid worries about a surge in the highly contagious delta variant of Covid-19 across the globe. Data showing a drop in China's industrial profits in the month of May is weighing as well.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August are down $0.22 or 0.31% at $73.83 a barrel.
Gold futures are lower by $2.20 or 0.11% at $1,775.60 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $0.018 or 0.07% at $26.105 an ounce.
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