Soaring commodity prices will likely weigh on stocks Tuesday even as Alcoa kicked started corporate earnings season with strong results.

Crude-oil futures were up 50¢ to US$69.24 a barrel in electronic trading. Metals futures also were strong, with gold holding above US$600 an ounce.

No U.S. economic releases were scheduled Tuesday.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said last year’s sustained pace for investment in non-residential building construction has spilled over into 2006, again the result of strong activity in Western Canada, particularly Alberta.

Investment during the first three months of 2006 rose 2.3% to $8.5 billion — the sixth consecutive record high.

Separately, the government agency said retailers in 2005 registered their highest year-over-year increase in retail sales since 2002.

In total, consumers spent $369.2 billion in retail stores last year, up 6.2% from 2004. This was the highest growth rate since 2002 when it was 6.4%. Sales for the fourth quarter increased 5.4% over the same quarter in 2004.

The Canadian dollar opened at US87.26¢, up 0.23 of a cent.

Also today, the Conference Board said that tax cuts and wage gains will put more money in Canadians’ pockets this year, leading to a second consecutive year of strong consumer spending growth, totalling 3.6%. “Canadians’ real after-tax income will grow by 5.4% in 2006,” the think tank said in its spring outlook.

In earnings news, Alcoa reported much better than expected earnings, sending shares up 7.2% in pre-market trading on Inet. The aluminum giant reported its first-quarter profit more than doubled, bolstered by a 16% jump in sales.

Overseas, technology stocks weighed on the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo, which slipped 0.2%.

Toronto stocks rose on Monday as surging oil and metals prices offset losses in technology shares. The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 48.49 points, or 0.4%, at 12,289.70.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 9.93 points, or 0.33%, to close at 3,047.30.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average finished up 21.29 points, or 0.19%, at 11,141.33. The S&P 500 was up 1.12 point, or 0.09%, at 1,296.62. The Nasdaq composite index was down 5.75 points, or 0.25%, at 2,333.27.