Equity markets in Toronto looked set to open higher on Wednesday as investors widely expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue with its current stimulative monetary policy stance until next year.
The S&P/TSX composite index vaulted 68.77 points to close Tuesday at 13,440.61, with Wednesday futures up 0.2%.
The Canadian dollar added on 0.15 cents to 95.68 cents U.S. early Wednesday
Canadian National Railway said on Tuesday it still hopes to negotiate a new deal with the Teamsters union and avoid a labor disruption, after talks assisted by government-appointed mediators stretched into the early morning.
National Bank Financial raised the target price on Genworth MI Canada to $34 from $30 following the company's better-than-expected third-quarter results.
National Bank Financial raised the target price on Horizon North Logistics to $9.50 from $8 as the company's third-quarter revenue beat estimates.
National Bank Financial raised the rating on Thomson Reuters to sector perform from underperform as the company's financial & risk's net sales turned positive for the first time in eight years.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 3.87 points Tuesday to 968.44
ON WALLSTREET
Optimism washed over investors Wednesday on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will maintain its massive stimulus efforts.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials picked up 46 points, or 0.3%, at 15,662. Futures for the S&P 500 increased 3.30 points, or 0.2%, to 1,770.70, and futures for the NASDAQ gained 14.75 points, or 0.4%, to 3,398.75
The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs Tuesday.
Sprint reported a quarterly profit, after slogging through losses in earlier quarters, while Comcast reported declines in quarterly sales and profit.
General Motors reported improved operating income and revenue as it narrowed losses in Europe and improve its profit margin in North America. Chrysler reported double-digit gains in profit and sales for the quarter. The automaker is not publicly traded, but has announced plans for an initial public offering.
Yelp shares plunged 10% after the review site reported a wider-than expected quarterly loss and announced plans for a follow-on stock offering. On the flip side, Baidu shares rallied after China's largest search engine posted strong earnings and sales, and said earnings in the current quarter would easily top forecasts.
Shares of Electronic Arts jumped about 8% after the video game maker's quarterly earnings beat expectations.
Facebook, Expedia and Visa will report after the market close.
The Fed is due to release a statement at 2 p.m. ET, following a two-day policy meeting. Investors will parse the text for clues about when the central bank may begin scaling back its $85-billion monthly bond buying program. Many expect current stimulus efforts will be maintained for the remainder of the year.
Elsewhere on the economic front, payroll processor ADP releases its monthly report on private-sector job growth. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issues the September edition of the Consumer Price Index, the government's key metric for inflation.
Meanwhile, Asian markets ended with sizable gains, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbing 2% and the Shanghai Composite index up 1.5%. A weaker yen helped push Japan's Nikkei 225 up 1.2%.
Oil prices turfed 88 cents to $97.32 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices gained $5.70 to $1,351.20 U.S. an ounce.
