Markets in Toronto looked set to join Wall Street by opening higher on Wednesday, with investors also set to take cues from Canadian corporate earnings.
The S&P/TSX composite finished Tuesday up 64.30 points to 12,377.05, with futures up 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar faded 0.07 cents to 100.01 cents U.S. Wednesday
Potash Corp, the world's largest fertilizer maker, is in talks with Israel's government about merging with its smaller rival Israel Chemicals, ICL's parent company said.
Russel Metals Inc. posted a 14% fall in third-quarter profit due to lower steel prices.
Publisher Torstar Corp. reported a 44% fall in third-quarter profit on lower spending by advertisers.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported that the economy lost some of its shine in August. Real gross domestic product edged down 0.1% two months ago, the first monthly decline since February.
The nation’s number crunchers also said that goods production declined 0.5% in August, mainly as a result of decreases in mining and oil and gas extraction and in manufacturing. Declines were also recorded in utilities and construction.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange advanced 11.49 points to 1,302.92
ON WALLSTREET
Wall Street prepared for a return to business Wednesday, even as New York City remained in clean-up mode two days after the battering from Hurricane Sandy.
The Dow Jones Industrials noted its futures jumped 56 points, or 0.4%, to 13,110, while S&P 500 futures gained 6.30, or 0.5%, to 1,413.90, and futures for the tech-rich Nasdaq advanced 2.25 points, or 0.1%, to 2,661.25.
Volume is expected to be very high as the NYSE, Nasdaq and other markets execute their first trades after two unscheduled days in the dark.
Wednesday will be particularly busy for investors since it also happens to be the last day of the month -- a time when traders, hedge funds and mutual funds often square up their positions.
And for some, the day also marks the last trading session of the fiscal year. It's a day when many mutual fund managers will try to offset their capital gains with their losses to minimize the distributions paid out to shareholders.
Home improvement stocks such as Home Depot, which rallied 4% in pre-market trading, and Lowe's, which was up almost 6%, will likely be big movers.
Shares of Generac, a generator maker, jumped 10% in pre-market trading after the company boosted its earnings and revenue forecast for the year, as a result of "increased demand for home standby and portable generators" in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
European stocks were mixed in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was down slightly, the DAX in Germany increased 0.7% and France's CAC 40 jumped 0.3%.
Jobless in the euro-zone rose in September to a record high of 11.6%, the European Commission's Eurostat statistics agency reported Wednesday.
Asian markets closed higher. The Shanghai Composite added 0.3%, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong and Japan's Nikkei 225 increased 1%.
Oil for December delivery rose 75 cents to $86.43 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for December delivery gained $9.10 to $1,721.10 U.S. an ounce.
