Toronto's main stock index looked set to open higher on Thursday, as commodity prices rallied on optimism Greece would pull off a critical bond swap deal.
The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 cents to 100.43 cents U.S.
In earnings news, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reported that its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 9%, to $835 million or $1.93 a share. The bank's adjusted earnings, which strip out some one-time items, topped analysts' expectations. CIBC held its dividend unchanged.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. reported that its earnings swung to a gain of $832 million, up from a loss of $309 million last year. The energy producer also boosted its dividend by 17%.
U.S. stock futures were higher with about 30 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 74 points, or 0.6%, to 12.915. The blue-chip index fell 200 points on Tuesday, then recovered some lost ground in a modest rally on Wednesday.
Futures for the broader S&P 500 were up 9.5 points or 0.7%, to 1,362.30, and for the tech-rich Nasdaq index, futures were ahead 16.75 points, or 0.6%, to 2,625.50.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was up 1.3% and Germany's DAX index was up 2.1% in afternoon trading.
Concerns about Greece are fading as the deadline looms for private bondholders to exchange their Greek government bonds and take a haircut of more than 50 per cent on their holdings.
The deadline for the exchange is 3 p.m. (ET), and recent indications suggest that most bondholders are on board, a shift from mounting skepticism about the swap earlier in the week, which fed concerns about a messy default.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2% in overnight trading, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong rocketed 1.3%.
Commodity prices moved higher. Crude oil rose to $107 U.S. a barrel, up 0.8%. Gold rose to $1,701 U.S. an ounce, up 1%.
