Canada's resource heavy index looked set to open higher on Thursday, extending gains as commodity prices rose, after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates near zero until 2014 and said it was pondering additional stimulus to support growth.
The Canadian dollar could be headed for its first close above parity with the U.S. dollar for the first time since the end of October, rising 0.2 of a cent to 99.85 cents U.S.
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. reported fourth-quarter net income of $221 million, an increase from $186 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue grew to $1.4 billion from $1.29 billion.
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. said its profits grew in the fourth quarter to $683 million U.S. or 78 cents a share, up from $508 million a year ago. However, earnings were 11 cents short of expectations.
Sales grew to $1.87 billion from $1.81 billion.
Cogeco Inc. said its first-quarter profits grew 20% to $47.9 million, or $1.11 per share, versus $39.8 million, or 97 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenues increased 13% to $387.5 million from $341.7 million.
Economically speaking, payroll numbers were presented by Statistics Canada this morning, saying that in November, average non-farm weekly earnings were fairly static at $883.96, but 2.2% higher than the same month in 2010.
U.S. index futures were higher with about half an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading.
Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 61 points or 0.5% to 12,749. Futures for the broader S&P 500 rose 6.10 points or 0.5% to 1,326.30, while Nasdaq futures rose five points, or 0.2%, to 2,465.50.
The gains come ahead of a weekly report on initial jobless claims from the U.S. Labor Department. Last week, claims took a surprisingly sharp drop to 352,000, instilling new confidence in the ability of the economy to turn the long-stubborn employment situation around.
This week, economists are expecting claims will rise to 370,000.
Economists and investors will also be looking for reports on U.S. durable goods orders for December, business activity in the Chicago area and new home sales.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.1% and Germany's DAX index was up 1.3% in afternoon trading
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.4% in overnight trading while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index returned from holiday to leap 1.6%.
Commodities also moved higher, with crude oil rising above $100 U.S. a barrel again, up 1.3%.
Gold, which popped higher following the Fed's monetary policy statement on Wednesday, rose 0.9%, to $1,716 U.S.
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