Source: The Canadian Press

Higher metal prices could send the Toronto stock market higher Tuesday amid a second day of meetings by European finance ministers to revamp Europe’s debt strategy.

The Canadian dollar gained traction ahead of a scheduled announcement by the Bank of Canada on interest rates. The loonie was up a fifth of a US cent to 101.5 cents US.

The central bank is widely expected to leave its key rate unchanged at 1% but traders will be looking for indications of when it plans to resume hikes.

U.S. futures were higher ahead of earnings reports from IBM, Citigroup and particularly Apple Inc.

CEO Steve Jobs announced Monday he is going on medical leave to focus on his health.

Apple is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of US$5.41 a share after the market close, up from US$3.67 a share in the same period a year ago. Its shares were down 4.5% in pre-market trading in New York.

Meanwhile, copper prices headed higher with the March contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up two cents to US$4.44 a pound.

Bullion also rose as the February contract on the Nymex was $8 higher to US$1,368.50 an ounce.

However, oil futures hovered below US$92 a barrel, largely shrugging off a higher OPEC demand forecast as trading in the February contract dwindled ahead of its expiration.

The February crude contract dipped 20 cents to US$91.34 a barrel.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average closed up 0.2%. Elpida Memory Inc., Japan’s biggest semiconductor maker, rose 1.1% after the Nikkei financial daily reported the company plans to raise prices of chips used in personal computers.

The finance ministers of the 17 euro zone countries met in Brussels on Monday but acknowledged being weeks away from agreeing on how to overhaul a 750 billion euro (US$1 trillion) bailout fund to better deal with the region’s crippling debt burden.

The crisis has already forced Greece and Ireland to implement painful budget cuts in exchange for multibillion dollar bailouts. Harsh remedies prescribed by governments have provoked protests and strikes in Portugal, Greece and elsewhere.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was flat while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.2% lower.

London’s FTSE 100 index gained 0.99%, Frankfurt’s DAX was up 0.92% while the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.59%.

In corporate news, Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA) said its U.S. subsidiary has agreed to sell its Fort Lupton natural gas processing plant in Colorado for about US$303 million. The Calgary-based natural gas giant said Western Gas Partners LP (NYSE:WES) would acquire the plant, which has production of about 84 million cubic feet per day.

TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:AMTD) says it had net income of US$145 million or 25 cents per share in its first quarter of fiscal 2011. That’s up from US$136.2 million or 23 cents per share a year earlier. TD Bank Financial Group (TSX:TD) owns 40% of Ameritrade and it said the results will contribute $48 million to first quarter net income.

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (TSX:GTE) is seeking to expand its presence in South America with a US$195-million friendly takeover of Petrolifera Petroleum Ltd.