Canadian shares are likely to open with a negative bias Monday morning, tracking a largely subdued trend in Asian and European markets, and sluggish commodity prices.
Worries about slowing global economic growth, and the impact of China Evergrande's financial woes on the world's second largest economy are likely to weigh on the market.
Data on Canadian building permits for the month of August is due at 8:30 AM ET. The value of building permits in the country dropped by 3.9% over a month to C$ 9.9 billion in July, following an upwardly revised 7.2% increase in the previous month.
The Canadian market ended on a firm note on Friday, led by gains in consumer discretionary, financial and industrials shares. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which drifted down to 19,954.82 around mid-morning, ended with a gain of 80.62 points or 0.4% at 20,150.87.
Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF.TO) said that it agreed to acquire DentaQuest for US$2.475 billion or about C$3.1 billion. The company noted that the transaction will be financed using a combination of cash and debt, and that it expects to complete the deal in the first half of 2022.
Asian stocks ended mixed in thin holiday trade on Monday amid uncertainty about the fate of the Biden Administration's flagship spending bills, and doubts abut China's economic growth due to the Evergrande debt crisis.
Chinese markets were closed for the National Day holiday and South Korea for National Foundation Day.
European stocks are somewhat subdued today with investors fretting over risk to growth from rising inflation and China Evergrande's financial troubles.
Participans are closely watching beleaguered developer China Evergrande, whose shares were suspended in Hong Kong ahead of an announcement about a major transaction.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for November are up marginally at $75.71, recoving from a low of $75.32 recorded in the Asian session.
Gold futures are down $4.10 or 0.21% at $1,754.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.121 or 0.58% at $22.415 an ounce.
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