Global stocks looked set to kick off the start of March with modest gains on Tuesday morning, after major North American indexes turned in a solid performance in February.
U.S. stock index futures were higher with about an hour before markets open, suggesting that stocks will rise at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were up 26 points or 0.2 per cent. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were up 4 points or 0.3 per cent. Both indexes finished February on an upbeat note on Monday, concluding a three-month winning streak.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.1 per cent and Germany's DAX index was up 0.5 per cent in afternoon trading. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 per cent in overnight trading.
Bank of Montreal kicked off the second round of earnings for Canada's Big Banks with a gain of 18 per cent in its net income for the fiscal first quarter. Income rose to $776-million or $1.30 a share, up from $1.12 a share last year and slightly ahead of analysts' expectations. Last week, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and National Bank of Canada reported earnings that topped expectations. BMO left its dividend unchanged.
Meanwhile, investors will be looking at the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index for February, due out at 10 a.m. Economists are expecting a modest improvement to a reading of 61, from 60.8 in January. And after markets close, investors will get a look at monthly auto sales.
David Berman