The Toronto stock market appeared headed for a positive session Tuesday as prices for oil and metals advanced.

However, markets remain jittery ahead of a key budget vote in Italy’s parliament that could determine whether Silvio Berlusconi remains as premier of the country which has become the latest focus of the European debt crisis.

The Canadian dollar was down 0.22 of a cent to 98.53 cents US.

U.S. futures were also higher with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead 78 points to 12,085, the Nasdaq futures rose 19.75 points to 2,389.5 and the S&P 500 futures climbed eight points to 1,265.5.

A confidence vote on Berlusconi’s government was expected to be held around the time North American markets open (at 9:30 a.m. EST).

Berlusconi’s main coalition ally has urged him to step aside as political uncertainty in the eurozone’s third-largest economy rocked financial markets for yet another day and Italy’s borrowing rates spiked to their highest level since the euro was established in 1999.

The yield on Italy’s ten-year bonds jumped as high as 6.74% before settling down to 6.6%. A rate of over seven per cent is considered unsustainable and proved to be the trigger point that forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal into accepting financial bailouts.

Berlusconi’s government is under intense pressure to enact quick reforms to shore up Italy’s defences against Europe’s debt crisis.

With debts of around C1.9 trillion, Italy is considered by many as being too big for Europe to bail out, like it has already done for Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Oil prices moved higher with the December contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 73 cents to US$96.25 a barrel.

Helping to sustain crude prices were expectations that a report to be released Wednesday by the International Atomic Energy Agency is likely to contain evidence about Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Analysts note that such evidence could increase the risk of an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Commodities have also rebounded in recent weeks on signs that the U.S. economy has avoided a recession this year.

Metals strengthened as the December copper contract gained three cents to US$3.57 a pound.

Bullion inched up 20 cents to US$1,791.30 an ounce.

European bourses were positive as London’s FTSE 100 index gained 1.78%, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 2.23% and the Paris CAC 40 was up 2.38%.

Earlier, though, Asian markets were beset by uncertainty. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 1.3%, South Korea’s Kospi closed 0.8% down, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was nearly unchanged.

Mainland Chinese shares slipped, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index edged down 0.2%.

In earnings news, Uranium One Inc. (TSX:UUU) had a profit of $45.8 million in the third quarter, a bit improvement from a year ago loss of $44.8 million, as it more than doubled revenue compared with the same time last year.

TMX Group’s (TSX:X) net income increased 21% in the third quarter to $67 million, helped by stronger derivatives trading, clearing, and both listing and information services. Revenue in the quarter was $167.8 million, up 15% from the third quarter of 2010.