Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney winks at the start of a news conference upon the release of the Monetary Policy Report in Ottawa.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
North American markets surged ahead at the open Tuesday as investors awaited for signs from the U.S. Federal Reserve on when the central bank will scale down its $85-billion bond buy back program.
The S&P/TSX composite index opened higher by 91.37 points to 12,704.42. The Canadian dollar was up 0.09 of a cent to 97.26 cents US.
The Dow Jones industrials index was ahead by 43.44 points to 15,378.72, the S&P 500 climbed 3.63 points to 1,669.92, while the Nasdaq jumped 4.57 points to 3,501.
With not much in the way of economic or corporate news on the docket, the focus will be on scheduled speeches by St. Louis Fed president James Bullard and New York Fed president William Dudley.
Mark Carney is also delivering his last official speech as Bank of Canada governor in Montreal before leaving the central bank to head the Bank of England.
European shares reversed earlier losses to trade flat on Tuesday, taking heart from solid opening gains on Wall Street.
The FTSEurofirst 300 was flat at 1,251.59 points, recovering from a session low of 1,243.96.
On the commodities front, June gold bullion dropped $15 to US$1,368.90 an ounce, the June crude contract was down four cents to US$96.67 a barrel and July copper jumped a penny to US$3.37 a pound.