Global stocks were set to rise on Monday, following upbeat retail sales gains in the United States and talk about a potential bailout for Ireland.
U.S. stock index futures were higher with about an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 32 points or 0.3 per cent. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were up 5 points or 0.4 per cent. Both indexes endured a number of down days last week, including a steep slide on Friday on concerns that China might raise its key interest rate.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 0.3 per cent and Germany's DAX index was up 0.6 per cent in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.1 per cent in overnight trading.
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan will be in focus after BHP Billiton Ltd. dropped its bid for the Canadian fertilizer producer, following resistance from the federal government to such a takeover. The shares were down 1.2 per cent in premarket activity in New York, but remain well above BHP's initial bid of $130 (U.S.) for the company.
In economic news, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. retail sales in October rose 1.2 per cent, well above the 0.8 per cent gain that economists had been expecting.
Meanwhile, there is some talk that Ireland has been in private discussions with the European Central Bank over the need for a financial bailout after yields on the Ireland's government bonds surged last week. However, Ireland has apparently rejected pressure so far to accept any bailout.
David Berman