March 14 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index was poised to open higher on Monday, tracking strong global cues on hopes for progress in Russia-Ukraine talks, although weakness in commodities capped gains.
March futures on the S&P/TSX index were up 0.1% at 6:49 a.m. ET.
Diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine have raised market hopes, with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators set to talk again after both sides cited progress.
U.S. crude prices were down 4.9% a barrel, while Brent crude lost 3.9%, while gold futures fell 1.0% to $1,963.1 an ounce.
Meanwhile, investors await domestic consumer price data due later in the week. Inflation is expected to have risen 5.5% in February.
The Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index ended 0.6% higher at 21,461.83 on Friday.
Dow e-minis were up 352 points, or 1.07%, at 6:49 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 e-minis were up 39.5 points, or 0.94%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 93.5 points, or 0.7%.
TOP STORIES
Rio Tinto proposed on Monday to buy the 49% of Canada's Turquoise Hill it does not already own for about $2.7 billion, paving the way for a direct ownership of the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining project in Mongolia.
ANALYST RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Artemis Gold Inc: CIBC initiates coverage with "outperform" rating
Ascot Resources Ltd: CIBC initiates coverage with "outperform" rating
Skeena Resources Ltd: CIBC initiates coverage with "outperform" rating
COMMODITIES AT 7:00 a.m. ET
Gold futures : $1964; -1.06%
US crude : $103.62; -5.2%
Brent crude : $107.97; -4.2%
($1= C$1.28)
Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi
Source: Reuters