Bay Street Likely To Open On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares look headed for a somewhat mixed start Monday morning, tracking crude oil and precious metals prices. Additionally, PMI data and corporate news are expected to provide some direction to the market.

S&P Global's PMI readings on Canada's manufacturing and services sector activity in the month of September are due at 9:30 AM ET.

Cenovus Energy announced it has entered into a definitive arrangement agreement to acquire Athabasca Oil Corporation (ATH.TO) in a cash and stock transaction with an implied enterprise value of C$5.7 billion. Cenovus expects the acquisition to close in December 2026.

Suncor Energy will be in focus after Ithaca Energy plc, a UK oil and gas exploration and production company, announced that it has agreed to acquire offshore oil assets in Canada from Suncor with an upfront cash consideration of $860 million. Ithaca could pay up to an additional $250 million in contingent consideration linked to Brent crude oil prices. The transaction is targeted to be completed in the first half of 2027.

The Canadian market closed on a strong note on Friday, recovering from recent losses. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended the day with a gain of 347.89 points or 1% at 35,502.65, bouncing off its lowest closing level in well over two months.

Asian stocks closed broadly higher on Monday. Markets in mainland China and South Korea remained closed for holidays.

Focus shifted to the release of the ISM Services PMI later in the day and the minutes of the September FOMC meeting on Wednesday after softer U.S. jobs data reinforced bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve may hold interest rates steady later this month.

The major European markets are mixed. The French market is notably lower amid rising concerns about the nation's fiscal woes and political uncertainty. Investors react to the regional PMI data and remain largely cautious.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are down $1.12% or 1.23% at $89.99 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $23.90 or 0.57% at $4,186.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are up $1.585 or 2.6% at $62.000 an ounce.