Stocks are likely to drift at the opening in Toronto, with low volume and little price movement expected because most U.S. markets will be closed today for the Independence Day holiday.
The TSX ended trading at 11,196 on Friday after swooning more than 4 per cent last week over jitters caused by weaker-than-expected U.S. payroll data and continuing worries over the health of the European banking system.
The heavily weighted gold component on the Toronto market may see modest selling pressure based on a drop in bullion prices in overseas markets. Spot gold is trading down $3.70 (U.S.) from late trading on Friday at $1,208 an ounce about two hours before the opening of trading.
Crude oil prices are up marginally by 9 cents to $72.23 a barrel, a small rise that is unlikely to give much of an upward push to Toronto stocks.
In the U.S., the S&P futures contract was up slightly by 1 point in screen trading to 1015 on the September contract.
The picture on overseas markets is mixed.
Japanese stocks had one of the best performances internationally, with the Nikkei up 0.69 per cent to 9,267, but shares in China remained under selling pressure based on worries that the government is trying to restrain growth to avoid a bubble in its real estate market. The Shanghai composite index closed down 0.8 per cent, but was off its lowest levels of the session.
Stocks in Europe are mixed and fluctuating between small gains and losses, with no clear direction.