BlackBerry shares likely to trade heavily after Toronto stock market opens

TORONTO – Shares of BlackBerry (TSX:BB) are likely to be in the spotlight early Monday as the Toronto Stock Exchange begins the week of trading with few other events moving markets.

The struggling Waterloo, Ont.-based smartphone marker says its weighing its options and has hired a committee to assess its strategic alternatives, which could include selling itself, a joint venture or other options.

The Canadian dollar was off 0.06 of a cent to 97.06 cents

Commodity prices were positive as the September crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 55 cents to US$105.42 a barrel.

September copper edged up a penny to US$3.12 a pound while August bullion rose $16.80 to US$1,329 an ounce.

Dow Jones industrial futures are down 57 points to 15,318. S&P futures have given up 7.4 points to 1,673.80. Nasdaq futures are down 10.25 points to 3,103.

The U.S. Treasury Department is expected to report that the national deficit fell again last month when the report is released this afternoon.

In other developments, Dollarama Inc. (TSX:DOL) says its chief operating officer is leaving the company to become president and CEO of a California-based discount retailer, called 99-cents Only Stores.

In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.3 per cent to 6,566 while Germany’s DAX fell 0.8 per cent to 8,271. The CAC-40 in France was 0.4 per cent lower at 4,059.

Earlier in Asia, a possible upswing in China’s economy helped boost stocks in Hong Kong and on mainland China.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.1 per cent to 22,271.28. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.4 per cent to 2,101.28. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.3 per cent to 1,009.13.