U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open Tuesday, as investors switched their attention from the troubled financials sector to strength in the materials and technology sectors.

Shares of Alibaba.com almost tripled in their Hong Kong debut, marking a successful start for the world’s largest initial public offering by an e-commerce company since Google.

Gold futures surged US$9.40 to US$820.20 an ounce, and crude oil futures gained US$1.68 to US$95.66 a barrel, as the U.S. dollar continued its downward course against most other currencies.

In today’s economic news, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is speaking at a conference on microfinance but no question-and-answer session is scheduled.

Here at home, the value of building permits slipped slightly in September as gains in the residential sector were more than offset by declines in non-residential intentions. Municipalities issued permits worth $6.2 billion, down 1.7% from August, Statistics Canada reported today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US108.17¢, up 0.99 cent from Monday’s record closing high.

In earnings news, Magna International reported a 65% increase in third-quarter earnings to US$155 million as sales rose 12% to US$6.08 billion.

Nortel Networks reported July-September net income of US$27 million, up from a year-earlier loss of US$63 million.

Sun Microsystems returned to profitability but recorded just a 1% revenue rise, below Wall Street estimates.

Overseas, the FTSE 100 rose 0.4% in London, while the Hang Seng ended 1.7% higher in Hong Kong after Monday’s 5% drop.

Toronto stocks moved lower Monday, as losses in commodities dragged down the resource sectors, and more news of credit loss write downs in the U.S. sent financials lower.

The S&P/TSX composite index fell 90.51 points, or 0.63%, to 14,273.37.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 17.37, or 0.55%, to 3,153.22.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 51.70, or 0.38%, to 13,543.40, the Nasdaq composite index dipped 15.20, or 0.54%, to 2,795.18, and the S&P 500 fell 7.48, or 0.50%, to 1,502.17.