Bay Street Likely To Open On Subdued Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares are likely to open on a subdued note Monday morning with investors looking for directional clues, after recent record highs following the Federal Reserve's jumbo interest-rate cut. The market is likely to move in a tight range for much of the day's session amid lackluster moves.

CGI Inc. (GIB.A.TO) announced today that Harley-Davidson Financial Services selected the company to modernize its loan origination system.

Data on Canadian new housing prices for the month of August is due at 8:30 AM ET.

After an early setback, the Canadian market recovered gradually in cautious trade on Friday and eventually ended the day's session with a slender gain.

Investors digested the nation's retail sales, and producer & raw materials prices reports, and largely made stock specific moves.

The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index, which dropped to 23,740.37 in early trades, ended the session with a small gain of 1.10 points at 23,867.37. The index gained about 4.8% in the week.

Asian stocks ended mixed on Monday as tensions escalated in the Middle East and China's central bank lowered a short-term policy rate and pumped more liquidity into the financial system in a bid to boost the world's second-largest economy.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance in cautious trade as investors react to weak business activity data and the latest political developments in the region.

Eurozone business activity contracted more than expected in September, with the corresponding PMI falling to 48.9 from 51.0 as both services and manufacturing sectors weakened.

Similarly, growth softened across U.K. businesses in September.

In political news, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party (SPD) has narrowly beaten the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in an election in the east German state of Brandenburg, according to official results released this morning.

In France, Prime Minister Michel Barnier said his new government could increase taxes for big business and the wealthiest to help tackle the budget deficit.

Elsewhere in the U.K., Finance Minister Rachel Reeves said there would be no return to austerity or widespread cuts despite financial challenges.

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are up $0.31 or 0.44% at $71.31 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $3.00 or 0.1% at $2,649.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.495 or 1.56% at $31.010 an ounce.