Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market could find some some lift from resource stocks at the open on Tuesday amid some hopeful comments on the U.S. economy from the head of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

New York futures pointed to a positive open with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead 38 points to 9,832. The Nasdaq futures gained four points to 1,799.75 while the S&P 500 futures rose 3.5 points to 1,051.5 after Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday night that he is hopeful the world’s No. 1 economy will gain traction and not fall back into a “double dip” recession.

Bernanke added that he expects a continued recovery, but “it won’t feel terrific.”

The July crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 10 cents to US$71.54. Oil has lost ground over the past two sessions on worries about slowing demand amid poor jobs data in the U.S. last week, fears that a European debt crisis will grow and a slowing Chinese economy.

The July copper contract on New York shed a penny to US$2.75 a pound. Copper has plunged about 24% since mid-April as investors worry about economies going back into recession.

Investors looking for a safe haven continued to push gold prices higher with the August contract in New York up $7 to US$1,247.80 an ounce.

The Canadian dollar rose 0.56 of a cent to 95.44 cents US.

Another round of worry that the economic rebound is faltering pushed North American indexes lower on Monday with the TSX losing 65 points and the Dow industrials falling 115 points.

Bernanke later Monday that European leaders were taking the right steps to control rising deficits.

The European Union is hammering out new oversight measures aimed at heading off debt problems early among member countries. The EU’s credibility has been called into question in recent months as countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal grapple with ballooning debt and try to implement austerity measures.

The debt crisis has also sent the euro currency to four-year lows and raised worries about the future of the currency itself. On Tuesday, the euro was trading at US$1.1941.

Asian indexes closed higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock ending the day up 0.2% following a nearly 4% plunge Monday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged up 0.6%.

London’s FTSE 100 index stepped back 0.91%, while Frankfurt’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 both lost 0.8%.

Companies that will be attracting particular attention Tuesday included Maple Leaf Foods (TSX:MFI). The Globe and Mail reported that the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan is planning to sell its 35.3% stake in the food company. The stake is worth about $450 million, represents one of Teachers’ largest public-company investments and was its largest single holding of a listed company in Canada as of Dec. 31.

Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) has been ordered to close its Marlin mine in Guatemala by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It has called on the project to be shut pending an investigation into alleged human rights abuses and environmental problems. Goldcorp hasn’t had a formal indication from the government on how it will respond to the ruling, which was issued on May 20 and reportedly requires Guatemala to comply within 20 days.

MKS Inc. (TSX:MKX) announced Tuesday that it will increase its quarterly dividend by 17% to 17.5 cents. The Waterloo, Ont.-based software company also reported that quarterly revenue was US$17.2 million, up 27% from the year-earlier period. Net income was $8.5 million or 83 cents per share — more than four times the US$2 million or 20 cents per share a year earlier.