Futures for stocks on Canada’s main index fell on Monday, dragged by weaker oil prices, as soaring coronavirus cases in the U.S. and Europe threatened energy demand, while Libya's fast growing output also weighed on prices.
The TSX eked up 24.72 points to close Friday and the week at 16,304.08. The index fell on the week, though, 134 points, or 0.8%.
The Canadian dollar lost 0.23 cents Monday at 75.82 cents U.S.
December futures plunged 0.8% Monday.
Cenovus Energy Inc has agreed to buy rival Husky Energy Inc in an all-stock deal valued at $3.8 billion to create Canada's number-three oil and gas producer, as a pandemic-driven collapse in demand forces the industry to consolidate. Credit Suisse cut the rating on Cenovus to neutral from outperform.
CIBC raised the rating on Neo Performance Materials to outperform from neutral.
JP Morgan raised the rating on Rogers Communications target price to $63.00 from $61.00
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stayed positive 1.34 points to end Friday at 718.12, providing for a loss on the week of seven points, or nearly 1%.
ON WALLSTREET
Futures tied to major U.S. equity benchmarks fell on Monday as coronavirus infections jumped and negotiations for a fiscal stimulus package before the election came down to the wire.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials tumbled 316 points, or 1.1%, to 27,873.
Futures for the S&P 500 doffed 37 points, or 1.1%, at 3,414.75.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite slid 104.5 points, or 0.9%, to 11,559.
The decline in futures came amid a record surge in new coronavirus cases in the U.S. The country saw more than 83,000 new infections on both Friday and Saturday after outbreaks in Sun Belt states, surpassing a previous record of roughly 77,300 cases set in July, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said Sunday that the U.S. will not get control of the pandemic amid the surge in new cases.
Optimism also dimmed that the White House and Republicans could strike a stimulus deal with Democrats before the election. Meadows and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in separate interviews accused each other of moving the goalposts on stimulus talks.
Stocks with the most to lose from rising cases and a stalled stimulus plan led the decline Monday. Royal Caribbean shares fell 3.1% in pre-market trading. Delta fell 2.8%.
This week marks the last week of October and the final trading period before Nov. 3. Major averages are on track for modest gains for the month, with the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ both rising more than 3% so far. The 30-stock Dow is up about 2% this month.
Former Vice President Joe Biden maintains a sizable lead over President Donald Trump in national polls, although the gap has narrowed slightly as of late.
Traders will keep their eyes peeled for a raft of Big Tech and blue-chip corporate earnings as well as key economic data this week. Apple, Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon, Boeing and Caterpillar all report later in the week, while the first look at third-quarter Gross Domestic Product is due on Thursday.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 0.1% Monday, while markets in Hong Kong were shuttered for holiday.
Oil prices skidded $1.08 to $38.77 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices hesitated $1.80 to $1,903.40.
