TSX may open up as Merkel, Sarkozy meet

FACTORS TO WATCH

* Canadian equity futures pointed to a higher open.

* U.S. stock index futures rose building on the previous week's strong gains, as optimism grew that the upcoming European Union summit would break new ground to resolve the euro zone debt crisis.

* European stocks rose early, adding to last week's 8.5 percent jump on growing hopes of a comprehensive solution to the euro zone debt crisis as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel meet ahead of a key summit.

COMMODITY PRICE MOVES

* The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, rose 0.29 percent in early trade.

* Oil prices rose with Brent crude futures up near $111, extending gains from last week as rising tensions between Iran and the West increased the risk of disruption to crude shipments by the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.

* Gold prices dipped, after posting their sharpest weekly rise in more than a month, in cautious trading ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders to come up with a firm plan to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.

* Copper was steady, consolidating last week's strong gains with markets nervous ahead of a key summit in Europe this week but still hopefull that measures will be taken to combat the region's debt crisis.

CANADIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

* Enbridge Inc. : The company expects to win support for its C$5.5 billion Northern Gateway oil pipeline from a majority of native communities along the proposed route based on current negotiations, an executive said on Friday.

* Frontier Rare Earths Ltd. : The company signed a definitive agreement to partner with Korea Resources Corp to fast-track the development of the Zandkopsdrift rare earth project in South Africa.

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS

Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters.

* Bank of Nova Scotia price target cut to C$59 from C$60 at National Bank Financial; price target cut to C$57 from C$58 at CIBC

* Brookfield Office Properties price target raised to C$25.50 from C$24.50 at CIBC

* Colabor Group rating cut to sector perform from outperform at National Bank Financial

* Research In Motion price target cut to $16 from $23 at Barclays; price target cut to $25 from $55 at CIBC; price target cut to $18.90 from $26 at Nomura

* Royal Bank Of Canada price target cut to C$52 from C$53 at KBW; price target raised to C$54 from C$51 at CIBC