North American stocks may open higher Tuesday helped by news of a big merger in the Canadian mining sector and solid earnings results from Dow industrials component Alcoa.

Inco today agreed to buy fellow Canadian miner Falconbridge in have struck a shares-and cash deal worth more than $12 billion that would form the world’s largest nickel producer and a significant global copper producer.

Alcoa said late Monday its third-quarter earnings rose 2.1%, as a one-time gain offset both higher energy and raw-material costs and reduced aluminum selling prices.

In economic news, investors will be paying close attention to the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee meeting, due to be released this afternoon. They will be looking for clues at to when the U.S central bank will next raise interest rates.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

In other business news Telus Corp. and the Telecommunications Workers Union agreed to a contract agreement late Sunday, ending a lengthy strike at Canada’s second-biggest phone operator.

Crude-oil prices rose 83¢ to US$62.63 a barrel in early trading Tuesday.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 2.5%, or 328.97, to 13556.71 after being closed on Monday. European markets posted solid gains, with the German DAX 30 up 0.7% and the U.K. FTSE 100 up 0.4% recently.

U.S. stocks slipped on bad news from the auto sector Monday. The Dow industrials finished down 53.55 points to 10,238.76. The S&P 500 declined 8.57 to 1187.33, and the Nasdaq composite index slid 11.43 points to 2078.92.

Canadian markets were closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Toronto stocks closed higher Friday lifted by a stronger energy sector, mitigating some of the losses of the previous three sessions.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 49.92, or 0.47%, to 10,612.15. The benchmark index ended the week down 399 points, or 3.6%.