TSX set to rise as N.Y. set to reopen

The loonie was down 0.04 of a cent to 100.03 cents US after Statistics Canada reported that gross domestic product edged down 0.1% in August, the first monthly decline since February 2012. A 0.2% rise had been expected.

StatsCan said that the decline in gross domestic product came mainly as a result of decreases in mining and oil and gas extraction and in manufacturing. Declines were also recorded in utilities and construction.

U.S. futures were higher with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead 52 points to 13,106, the Nasdaq futures gained nine points to 2,668 and the S&P 500 futures gained 8.8 points to 1,416.4.

The NYSE said it would reopen Wednesday using backup generators because power is out in much of downtown Manhattan.

Wall Street experts had feared another delay might lead to a dangerous backlog of customer orders to buy and sell stock.

The two-day shutdown of the New York Stock Exchange was the first such closure due to weather since a huge blizzard in 1888 dumped more than 100 centimetres of snow on city streets.

Experts expect storm damage of about US$20 billion, about half of that insured.

Meanwhile, CME Group’s Nymex headquarters and trading floor will be open on Wednesday and trading will be conducted on normal hours.

The December crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 70 cents to US$86.38 a barrel.

December copper gained four cents to US$3.55 a pound while December bullion climbed $8.40 to US$1,720.50 an ounce.

Market sentiment got an early boost from an earnings report from General Motors Corp. that beat expectations.

GM says its third-quarter profit fell 12% to US$1.5 billion or 89 cents a share as losses grew in Europe and North American warranty costs cut into earnings. Excluding one-time items, GM made 93 cents per share, easily beating Wall Street expectations of 60 cents. Revenue grew 2.5% to $37.6 billion and its shares were up 2.8% in pre-market trading in New York.

In Canada, Torstar Corp. (TSX:TS.B), the Toronto-based publisher of newspapers, books and digital content, says third-quarter net income fell to C$14.1 million, or 18 cents per share, from $25.2 million or 32 cents per share a year earlier. Ex-items earnings fell to 29 cents per share from 37 cents per share. Revenue was $355.3 million, down from $378.7 million a year before.

There was major merger and acquisition news to digest.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (TSX:POT), the world’s largest fertilizer producer by market value, is reportedly in talks with the Israeli government to merge with Israel Chemicals Ltd. Word of the talks has surfaced in a disclosure document filed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange by Israel Corporation, the largest shareholder in Israel Chemicals. The deal may be valued at US$13.5 billion. Potash Corp. already owns 13.84% of Israel Chemicals.

And The Walt Disney Co. announced Tuesday that it is paying US$4.05 billion to buy Lucasfilm Ltd., the production company behind “Star Wars,” from its chairman and founder, George Lucas. It’s also making a seventh movie in the “Star Wars” series. The deal brings Lucasfilm under the Disney banner with other brands including Pixar, Marvel, ESPN and ABC.

European markets were mixed with London’s FTSE 100 index down 0.08%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.57% and the Paris CAC 40 edged up 0.13%. Earlier in Asia, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.9%, Hong Kong added 0.6% while South Korea’s Kospi added nearly 0.7% as global markets stayed calm despite Hurricane Sandy’s disruption of U.S. trading.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was down 0.3%.