U.S. stock futures pointed higher Tuesday, one day after Canada’s Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Third-quarter earnings season is due to kick off when aluminum producer Alcoa reports after the close.

The report from the aluminum giant, the first of the 30 constituent stocks of the Dow industrials to report results, could provide investors early insight into how well corporate profits held up during the third quarter.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US$1.0118, down 0.67 of a cent from Friday’s close.

In other earnings news, Yum Brands said that third-quarter net income was US$270 million, or 50¢ a share, up from US$230 million, or 42¢, earned for the same period a year ago.

In today’s M&A news, Vancouver-based biopharmaceutical firm QLT Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement to take over California’s ForSight Newco II in a $42 million deal.

Molson Coors Brewing and SABMiller are combining their U.S. operations in an effort to cut costs and put together a stronger competitor. The new joint venture will be called MillerCoors, the companies said Tuesday

Crude-oil prices continued to decline, falling 38¢ to US$78.64 a barrel.

In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 index rose 0.6%, led by Northern Rock after the U.K. government extended its guarantee on deposits with the bank.

Asian markets advanced. Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.56. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng rose 457.75 points, or 1.7%, to 28,228.04.

In New York, investors moving stocks only slightly amid holiday-thinned trading on Monday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.28 average to 14043.73. The S&P 500 lost 5.01 to 1552.58. The Nasdaq composite index was up 7.05 points to 2787.37, as tech bellwether Google closed above US$600 for the first time ever, gaining 2.6% to end at US$601.60.

Trading activity was light amid the Columbus Day holiday. U.S. bond markets were closed.

On Friday, the information technology sector led a broad rally to close the week on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The S&P/TSX composite index gained 108.23 points, or 0.77%, to 14,233.34.