North American stocks appear poised to fall Wednesday morning after aluminum giant Alcoa kicked off the earnings season on a disappointing note.

Alcoa, the first blue-chip company to report earnings, said late Tuesday that it earned US$537 million in third-quarter net income, or 61¢ cents a share, up 86% from a year ago but short of analysts’ estimates of 77¢ a share.

Here at home, BCE Inc. unveiled a plan to dissolve itself and turn Bell Canada into an income trust.

The Bell Canada Income Fund would have an initial annual cash distribution of $2.55 a unit, BCE said today.

On Tuesday, Dundee Wealth Management Inc. said its board of directors has approved the conversion of its investment management division, Goodman & Co., Investment Counsel Ltd., into an income trust.

In other earning news, Genentech late Tuesday reported net earnings of US$568 million, or 53¢ a share, up 58% from a year ago. Analysts had been looking for a profit of 51¢ share.

Legg Mason after Tuesday’s closing bell said it expects net per-share income for the second quarter, ended September 30, will be US96¢ to US$1.02, while Wall Street is looking for US$1.16. The asset-manager cited lower-than-expected revenue.

Yum Brands, the operator of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants, is expected to report third-quarter earnings of US75¢ a share.

The U.S. economic calendar for Wednesday is light, though investors will keep an eye on a speech by Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker and the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s September 20 meeting.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.11 cents¢, down 0.2 of a cent.

Crude-oil futures rose 14¢ to US$58.66 a barrel in electronic trading early Wednesday. OPEC will cut global production by one million barrels a day to boost prices, Nigerian oil minister and OPEC president Edmund Daukoru said Wednesday.

International stock markets posted moderate losses, with the German DAX 30 index slipping 0.6%.

In Asia, Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 76.68 points, or 0.47%, to finish at 16,400.57 points.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index rose 39.09 points, or 0.22%, to 17,862.79.

Toronto stocks moved higher Tuesday, despite a drop in oil prices, as the resource sectors posted a strong session.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 64.26, or 0.55%, to 11,755.15. The exchange was closed yesterday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, with the energy group advancing 1.19%.

The S&P TSX Venture Exchange down 3.92, or 0.17%, to 2,316.74.

In New York, markets were up as investors anticipated strong third-quarter earnings reports and took in lower commodity prices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 9.36 points at 11,867.17, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 3.66 points to 2,315.43, while the S&P 500 Index added 2.76 points to 1,353.42.