Rising metals and oil prices could help push Canadian stock markets higher Tuesday

Signs point to market gains in U.S. and maybe Canada

RTGAM



Rising metals and oil prices could help push Canadian stock markets higher Tuesday after they kicked off the week with another dismal loss on Monday, when oil in particular was greasing the skids. Stock index futures in the United States meanwhile are pointing to gains on Wall Street for the second day in a row.

After falling by $2.82 (U.S.) to finish yesterday at $95.09 a barrel, light sweet crude oil for delivery next month is currently up $1.08 to $96.17 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

As well, copper has regained some strength, climbing more than 2 per cent in London trading, where three-month futures on the red metal rose $165 to $7,065 a tonne. "The move is mostly driven by the rebalancing of commodity indexes," Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg told Reuters. "Because industrial metals didn't perform well last year, they are performing well now."

The price also was drawing support from expectations of strong, continuing demand from China.
In New York, the March contract on the Dow Jones industrial average has been climbing this morning and at 7.40 a.m. (EDT) was up 58 points at 12,870. The S&P 500 future was at 1,421.80, ahead 9.7 points and the Nasdaq 100 March contract was up 12.25 at 1,976.

Seven of Europe's nine major indexes are also ahead so far today.
Among U.S. stocks showing unusual gains in European trading are coffee-shop giant Starbucks Corp. and investment bank Bears Sterns Cos., both driven, it seems, by top-level executive changes.

At Seattle-based Starbucks, whose shares have taken a grinding in the past year, founder and chairman Howard Schultz said late Monday that he is taking over as CEO. As for Bear Sterns, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that James Cayne will give up the CEO's post although stay on as chairman, making him the latest high roller unseated by the subprime mortgage debacle.




Copyright 2001 The Globe and Mail