Toronto's main stock index looked set to open higher as lower-than-expected Chinese inflation raised hopes of an accommodative monetary policy and the U.S. earnings season got off to a good start.
The S&P/TSX index moved higher 12.71 points to end Monday at 12,344.56, with Tuesday futures up 0.3%.
The Canadian dollar was fairly flat at 98.22 cents U.S. early Tuesday.
Shaw Communications Inc. said on Monday that it would pay $225 million to acquire a fiber-optic network in Calgary from city-owned power company Enmax Corp.
Carrier Porter Aviation Holdings Inc is set to announce an order for up to 30 C-Series jets made by Bombardier Inc., the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two people familiar with the deal.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported this morning that municipalities issued building permits worth $6.0 billion in February, up 1.7% from January.
Elsewhere, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported that housing starts in Canada were trending at 189,742 units in March, with the standalone monthly Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate was 184,028 units in March, up slightly from 183,207 in February.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange stepped back 0.46 points to finish Monday’s session at 1,041.39
ON WALLSTREET
Investors head into Tuesday digesting results from Alcoa that marked the start of first-quarter earnings season.
Futures for the Dow Industrials improved 13 points, or 0.1%, to 14,576. Futures for the S&P 500 gained 3.7 points, or 0.2%, to 1,562.90, and futures for the NASDAQ picked up 8.5 points, or 0.3%, to 2,789.50
The aluminum producer reported earnings late Monday that beat analyst expectations but sales missed forecasts. Shares were slightly lower in pre-market trading.
Mega-banks JPMorgan and Wells Fargo are set to release quarterly results later this week.
After this year's strong run, most analysts expect investors to periodically tap on the brakes. All three major indexes have rallied 8% to 12% since January, and the Dow and S&P 500 have both set new record highs this month.
In corporate news, J.C. Penney shares sank sharply in pre-market trading, a day after the retailer announced that it was replacing CEO Ron Johnson with his predecessor, Mike Ullman.
European markets were higher in morning trading, helped by news of falling inflation in China, which also boosted the Shanghai Composite and the Hang Seng.
London's FTSE 100, the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX in Frankfurt were all up by less than 1%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was flat on the day.
Oil prices registered at $93.61 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices came in at $1,576.10 U.S.
