As expected, the Bank of Canada left rates unchanged this morning. It also sounded an optimistic note about the pace of recovery this year.

This morning stocks are looking to pullback a bit after two consecutive rallies. Profit taking has dominated the pre-market trade. Although the techs were generally still pointing higher, led by Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp.

In business news, Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 9% profit increase for its latest quarter. However, Formica Corp. filed for bankruptcy.

Overseas markets have generally been selling off a bit too this morning due to profit taking and weak results in Deutsche Telekom. France’s CAC 40 is down 28 points to 4,579. The DAX is off eight points to 5,237. And, the FTSE is down just four points to 5,238.

Overnight in Asia, socks were mixed. The Hang Seng gained 281 points to 10,986. But the Nikkei lost 102 points to 11,348.

In earnings news today, Scotiabank reported first quarter net income of just $52 million, after charges of $540 million due to the economic and political crisis in Argentina. Excluding these charges, underlying earnings were $592 million.

And, Agrium Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement for a US$110.3 million bought deal to a syndicate of underwriters led by Scotia Capital Inc. and RBC Capital Markets.