Bay Street Seen Opening On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a subdued note on Monday amid a lack of positive triggers. Asian stocks ended mostly lower and European stocks are down slightly, and commodity prices are weak.

Concerns about a potential government shutdown in the U.S. have eased a bit following the nation's legislators passing a last minute, temporary spending bill over the weekend.

The temporary funding bill allows the government to continue working until November 17, bringing some relief to the markets.

On the Canadian economic front, Markit Economic will release a report on Canadian manufacturing activity at 9:30 AM ET.

In August, Canadian factory activity contracted for the fourth consecutive month. The S&P Global Canada Manufacturing PMI sank to 48, the most since the pandemic-driven crash in the second quarter of 2020.

In company news, Laurentian Bank of Canada (LB.TO) said on Monday that its Chief Executive Officer, Rania Llewellyn, and Chair of the Board, Michael Mueller, have stepped down with immediate effect. The company has now appointed Eric Provost as CEO, and Michael Boychuk as Chair of the Board with immediate effect.

Lithium Americas Inc. (LAC.TO) is reportedly in talks with the U.S. Department of Energy to secure a loan of over $1 billion, for the company's Nevada project.

The Canadian market ended on a weak note on Friday, weighed down by losses in energy, consumer staples and utilities sections.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a loss of 49.47 points or 0.25% at 19,541.27. The index shed 1.2% in the week, and about 3.7% in September. In the July-September quarter, it posted a loss of about 3%.

Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Monday as weak factory activity data from China and Japan raised fresh concerns about the outlook for global growth.

Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea and India were closed for holidays. Chinese markets will continue to remain closed until the end of this week for the Golden week holiday.

European stocks are slightly weak, weighed down by disappointing regional data.

Euro zone manufacturing activity remained mired in a deep and broad-based downturn last month, with the HCOB's final euro zone manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, falling to 43.4 from August's 43.5.

Another survey showed the downturn in the U.K. manufacturing sector continued in September albeit at a slower pace.

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global/CIPS manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose slightly to 44.3 from August's 39-month low of 43.0.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.42 or 0.46% at $91.21 a barrel.

Gold futures are down $12.80 or 0.68% at $1,853.30 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.575 or 2.56% at $21.875 an ounce.