Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market headed for a higher open Wednesday as commodity prices revived following steep losses in the wake of a surprise interest rate hike in China.

The Canadian dollar headed higher, up 0.42 of a cent to 97.33 cents US after a strengthening U.S. currency and lower prices for oil and metals pushed the loonie down 1.7 cents on Tuesday.

U.S. futures were higher as earnings again take centre stage with quarterly results out from major banks, airlines and manufacturers throughout the morning. Internet companies take over after the market closes.

The Dow Jones industrial futures gained 28 points to 10,971, the Nasdaq futures were up 9.5 points to 2,077 while the S&P 500 futures advanced 5.9 points to 1,170.

Oil prices rose above $80 a barrel Wednesday in Asia, clawing back some of the previous session’s steep drop that was triggered by China’s surprise interest rate hike as Beijing moves to cool a hot economy.

The November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 86 cents to US$80.35 a barrel.

“Commodities prices in general have been on a tear over the past six weeks and much of that is due to Chinese consumption,” Sander Capital Advisors said. “Not everything can go up forever before ill effects take place.”

Oil rebounded despite a report from the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday that U.S. crude inventories rose 2.3 million barrels last week.

Gold prices were higher with the December bullion contract up $6.30 to US$1,342.30 an ounce while December copper was unchanged at US$3.77.

Investors took in a disappointing earnings report from energy giant EnCana Corp., the first of the big Canadian resource companies to report quarterly results. Canada’s biggest natural gas producer reported that operating income, which excludes most one-time items, fell to $98 million or 13 cents a share, well below analyst estimates of 19 cents a share. Encana also reduced its natural gas production outlook for the rest of the year and said its cash flows would also be lower than earlier expectations. EnCana shares were down 2% in premarket trading in New York.

Boeing says it earned US$837 million in the third quarter as it sold more commercial airplanes, and raised its profit guidance for the full year. Net income for the quarter is equal to $1.12 per share. Revenue rose 2% to almost US$17 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of $1.06 per share on revenue of US$16.81 billion.

Morgan Stanley recorded a loss during the third quarter because of special charges tied a loss on discontinued operations and the changing value of its own debt. Net loss applicable to common shareholders was US$91 million, or seven cents per share, compared to earnings of US$498 million, or 38 cents per share, during the same quarter last year.

Meanwhile, it appears the Saskatchewan government won’t support BHP Billiton in its US$38.6-billion hostile bid for PotashCorp, raising doubts that the takeover will receive the necessary regulatory approvals from Ottawa. BHP offered a C$370-million one-time payment into a proposed infrastructure fund to help cover the revenue the province would lose if the deal goes through. But an official with the Saskatchewan government said Tuesday the offer doesn’t come close to offsetting the potential loss.

In Asia, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index closed down 1.7%, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% and Singapore’s benchmark sank 0.4%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 0.9%.

London’s FTSE 100 index added 0.13% as Britain’s Treasury chief George Osborne said Wednesday he had ordered 83 billion pounds (US$130 billion) in spending cuts through 2015, which he claims are necessary alongside tax increases to wipe out a spending deficit which reached 156 billion pounds last year.

The cuts mean the loss of as many as 500,000 public sector jobs and sweeping cuts to welfare payments.

Frankfurt’s DAX was ahead 0.3% while the Paris CAC 40 advanced 0.57%.

In other corporate news, WestJet Airlines Ltd. has landed a long-coveted partnership with a U.S. carrier, announcing late Tuesday it had inked an interline pact with American Airlines. The deal will see the two airlines collaborate on baggage handling and other tasks, allowing U.S. travellers to visit Canada more seamlessly.

Com Dev International Ltd. (TSX:CDV), a manufacturer of space hardware subsystems, says it has won a contract to provide switches, multiplexers and filters for a commercial communications satellite.

The contract is worth more than C$6 million and is part of a broader agreement with a total potential value of more than $23 million.