The Toronto stock market was set to advance Wednesday on rising hopes that a mechanism to deal with the European government debt crisis will be arrived at by the end of the week.
The Canadian dollar was slightly higher, up 0.06 of a cent to 99.11 cents U.S.
In corporate news, Bank of Montreal is hiring the head of Metrolinx, the agency that operates GO Transit for the Ontario government, to chair the company. The bank says Robert Prichard, also a former CEO at Torstar Corp., will take the position after serving as an independent director of BMO since 2000. Prichard replaces the retiring David Galloway
Cenovus Energy Inc. plans to spend between $3.1 billion and $3.4 billion in 2012 as it pushes forward with the expansion of its Christina Lake oil sands project. That’s about 23% higher than its capital spending budget for this year.
Stateside, Dow Jones futures pointed upwards seven points, or 0.06%, to 12,119, while S&P futures were flat at 1,254.90 and Nasdaq futures faded 6.5 points, or 0.3% to 2,315 within an hour of the opening bell.
The Dow gained Tuesday after the Financial Times said European officials are working on a last-minute proposal to combine the resources of an existing bailout fund, with one that is planned for next year to create the financial "bazooka" that investors have been seeking.
According to the FT, officials are considering allowing the €440-billion European Financial Stability Facility to continue running alongside the €500-billion European Stability Mechanism that goes into effect next year. In addition, the funds could be further supplemented by contributions from euro-zone nations to the IMF, the report said.
The report boosted hopes that European Union leaders will announce both short-term and long-term solutions to the euro-zone debt crisis at a summit later this week.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is widely expected to cut interest rates at its policy meeting on Thursday.
European stocks were higher in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 ticked up 0.7%, the DAX in Germany gained 0.9% and France's CAC 40 rose 1.2%.
Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite edged up 0.3%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.6% and Japan's Nikkei jumped 1.7%.
Oil for January delivery fell 24 cents to $101.04 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for February delivery fell $2.40 to $1,732.40 U.S. an ounce
