The Toronto Stock Exchange appeared set to gain at the open Wednesday as commodity prices rebounded and traders awaited data on the U.S. housing market that is expected to be positive.
The Canadian dollar added 0.17 of a cent to 101 cents US after losing nearly half a cent Tuesday.
Wall Street futures were mixed, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising 11 points to 13,119, Nasdaq futures down 0.2 points to 2,735.2 and S&P 500 futures up 0.7 of a point to 1,400.7.
Gold added $2.10 to US$1,649.10 per ounce, while copper moved up one cent to US$3.84 a pound.
The May crude oil contract was up 42 cents at US$106.49 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude producer, said Tuesday that it can quickly boost output by 25% if there is a sudden disruption in global supplies. Crude has jumped from $75 in October as traders worry that a military conflict over Iran’s nuclear program could interrupt oil supplies.
Both the TSX and Wall Street closed lower Tuesday as commodity prices slumped amid signs that China’s booming economy could be slowing.
However, reports on the U.S. housing market over the past two days have been encouraging and more of the same is expected Wednesday. The National Association of Realtors releases its report on previously occupied home sales for February at 10 a.m. ET.
Economists forecast that sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6 million last month, according to a FactSet survey.
European stocks rose in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 5,908.30. Germany’s DAX gained 0.8% to 7,108.23 and France’s CAC-40 jumped 0.9% to 3,563.53.
The Nikkei 225 index in Japan, which counts China as its most important trading partner, fell 0.6% to 10,086.49.
South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 0.7% to 2,027.23.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.2% to 20,856.63 after failing to hold morning gains. Benchmarks in mainland China were mostly flat, while Thailand and Indonesia rose. The Philippines and New Zealand fell.