Stocks may retreat this morning taking back some of the uncharacteristic gains earned Monday.

October is usually a tough month for equities, but the beginning of the fourth quarter got off to a good start yesterday when the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 22.67, or 0.2%, at 9,594.98. The Nasdaq composite index gained 12.89, or 0.7%, to close at 1893.46, following a weekly advance of 4.9%.

The S&P/TSX composite index rose 43.28 points to close at 7,562.87.

The American dollar is down today against the Euro. That’s good for the Canadian dollar, which is approaching the 75¢ mark, but it’s bound to have an impact on trading. Wall Street futures are down so far this morning.

The week will be dominated by earnings reports. The big news this morning came from PepsiCo which is reporting that its third-quarter profit rose 13% amid stronger sales.

Alcoa will be the first Dow component to report its Q3 earnings later today.

There will be some economic news today. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest statistics on consumer credit is due later in the session.

Asian markets took their cue from Wall Street gains on Monday. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average finished up 80.19, or 0.75%, at 10,820.33 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Meanwhile, Hong Kong share prices closed slightly lower, snapping a four-session winning streak.

But in Europe today, markets are down. London’s FTSE 100 stock index has retreated 25 points, or 0.6%, to 4,245.10. In Frankfurt, the DAX index has fallen 54.27, or 1.6%, to 3,350.64. In Paris, the CAC40 index has declined 38.55 points, or 1.2%, to 3242.81.

Finance Minister John Manley said he will present the federal government’s autumn fiscal update on November 3 in Ottawa.