Global stocks, including those in Canada, looked set for gains on Tuesday, with investors looking beyond problems in Greece and more signs of a European recession and instead embraced an agreement among European leaders to strengthen fiscal ties among nations.
The Canadian dollar vaulted past the point of parity with the American dollar to 100.11 cents U.S., or 0.29 cents higher than yesterday.
Here in Canada, stocks to watch include Teck Resources Ltd. Workers of one union at the company's mid-sized Quebrada Blanca copper mine in northern Chile are poised to strike after labour contract negotiations with the mining company broke down, a union leader said on Monday.
Research In Motion is also in vogue. A review of leadership structure by a committee of independent directors has concluded that no future CEO or other employee can be chairperson of the BlackBerry maker.
U.S. stocks index futures were higher with less than an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 53 points, or 0.4%, to 12,655. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were up 6.1 points, or 0.5% to 1,315, while futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq index gained 11 points, or 0.5% to 2,473.
Investors have been riveted to events in Europe so far this week. On Monday, the focal point was Greece, due to ongoing negotiations there between the government and private-sector creditors and an apparent spat with Germany over whether an overseer was needed to ensure fiscal reforms were seen through. As well, surging Portuguese bond yields also suggested that the region's sovereign-debt crisis remained a big problem.
However, Monday evening saw European leaders conclude a meeting to discuss the crisis, and the agreement among them seems to be calming markets on Tuesday. According to reports, leaders there agreed to strengthen the fiscal union and create a permanent bailout fund -- seen as necessary precursors to stabilizing the crisis.
European stocks reacted positively. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% and Germany's DAX index rose 1% in afternoon trading.
The news from Europe wasn't all positive: Consumer spending in France and Germany fell in December, providing more evidence that the euro-zone has slipped into recession. As well, the unemployment rate in the euro-zone hit a record high of 10.4% in December.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index market rocketed up 1.1% in overnight trading.
Commodity prices were generally higher. Crude oil rose 1.5%, to $100.27 U.S. a barrel. Gold rose 0.5%, to $1,739 U.S. an ounce.
