Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market headed for a higher open Thursday as the latest dose of stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve weighed on the greenback and sent commodity prices higher.

Investors will also be looking to Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan shares (TSX:POT) after the federal government on Wednesday rejected BHP Billiton’s US$39-billion bid for the fertilizer company. BHP had to demonstrate the deal represented a likely net benefit to Canada.

Industry Minister Tony Clement gave BHP another month to change its bid before a final ruling on the transaction. PotashCorp shares were down about 4.5% in premarket trading in New York.

U.S. dollar weakness pushed the Canadian dollar close to parity, up 0.47 of a cent to 99.79 cents US.

New York futures indicated a solid open to the trading day after the Federal Reserve confirmed that it will buy US$600 billion in government bonds over the coming eight months in a fresh attempt to energize a faltering U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial futures ran up 63 points to 11,240, the Nasdaq futures gained 12 points to 2,176 while the S&P 500 futures were ahead 7.1 points to 1,204.

Investors were relieved at the Fed’s decision Wednesday to buy the additional assets in a measure known as quantitative easing, which is aimed at creating more dollars and increasing the supply of money in the economy.

The latest round of QE involves the Fed buying US$75 billion in Treasury bonds per month until June next year.

The Fed hopes that the policy will help drive down interest rates for households and businesses, giving the wider economy its source of stimulus.

The U.S. dollar has deteriorated sharply since the Fed first raised the possibility of more stimulus in late August, which has raised commodity prices. Since commodities like oil and gold are priced in U.S. dollars, a weaker greenback makes them more attractive to buyers who use foreign currencies.

The December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was ahead $1.04 to US$85.73 a barrel.

Metal prices also advanced with the December copper contract ahead eight cents to US$3.86 a pound.

The December bullion contract on the Nymex headed up $24.50 to US$1,362.10 an ounce.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index jumped 2.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index climbed 1.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite Index closed up 1.9%.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.69%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 1.82% and the Paris CAC 40 was ahead 1.82%.

Meanwhile, investors took in earnings news from a variety of Canadian corporate heavyweights.

Telecom giant BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) said its profits were down 5.4% in the third quarter from a year ago to $528 million. Earnings per share was 70 cents, missing analyst expectations of 75 cents per share, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU) earned just over $1 billion in the third quarter as the oil giant booked asset disposal gains and oilsands operations in northern Alberta generated one of the best performances in the company’s history. Canada’s largest oil and gas company said Thursday it earned 65 cents per common share in the quarter, well above analyst estimates.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (TSX:CNQ) reported net earnings of $580 million in the third quarter, down from $658 million in the corresponding quarter a year ago. The Calgary-based oil, gas and oilsands operator said Thursday its earnings per share stood at 53 cents in the quarter, down from 61 cents a year but ahead of analyst expectations for the company.

Air Canada (TSX:AC.A) said net income was $261 million in the third quarter, down from $277 million last year. But operating profits at the country’s dominant air carrier soared 381% to $327 million.

IE