Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market appeared set to open higher Wednesday amid bright earnings reports from two of the country’s major resource companies.

Encana Corp. (TSX:ECA), Canada’s largest natural gas producer, said its first-quarter net profit soared to US$1.48 billion, three times higher than it was a year earlier, as the accounting impact of its hedging program more than offset lower market prices for natural gas.

And Canada’s biggest base metals miner, Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B), earned $937 million in its latest quarter, up sharply from a year ago, helped by higher revenue and asset sales.

The S&P/TSX composite index posted small increases in the first two days of trading this week, as a slew of positive earnings reports and an upbeat economic outlook from the Bank of Canada were tempered by uncertainty about banking regulations and concerns that interest rates could soon be headed higher.

Commodity prices have also tempered recent gains amid fears a volcanic eruption in Iceland could slow the world’s economic recovery.

The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange slipped two cents to US$83.83 a barrel, while the June bullion contract edged up $1.20 to US$1,140.40.

The May copper contract on the Nymex lost 3.7 cents to US$3.48 per pound.

Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar continued to climb after gaining 1.58 cents — its biggest one-day gain in nine months — on Tuesday. The loonie added 0.29 cent to 100.41 cents US.

The dollar’s gain followed a projection from the Bank of Canada on Tuesday that Canada’s economy will grow a faster-than-expected 3.7% this year. The bullish economic forecast could lead the central bank to raise its key lending rate as soon as June 1.

In New York, stock futures were mixed. The tech-heavy Nasdaq’s futures rose 6.25 points, or 0.3%, to 2,030.50 after better-than-expected earnings from Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL). Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 23 points, or 0.2%, to 11,051, while the S&P 500’s futures fell 1.30, or 0.1%, to 1,204.10.

European stock markets retreated Wednesday, weighed down by Greece’s sovereign debt woes even as Asian markets were mostly higher as robust U.S. earnings offered new evidence of recovery in the world’s largest economy.

London’s FTSE 100 was off 1%, erasing the prior day’s gains. Germany’s DAX was off 0.4%, while France’s CAC 40 was off 0.9%. Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average climbed 1.7% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng retreated 0.5%.