Stocks in Toronto are expected to open higher Wednesday, as Canadian equities are riding a growth trend that’s developed during the current earnings season.

A few big names are reporting today, including Power Corp of Canada and retailer Canadian Tire Corp Ltd. The big banks will take the earnings spotlight next week.

The news isn’t so good, south of the border, where the U.S. Commerce Department is reporting that retail sales unexpectedly declined in April, raising concerns that the end of the war in Iraq hasn’t inspired consumers to shop. Retail sales fell 0.1%. March sales were previously estimated as a 2.1% increase. The decline was, in part, due to a 5.9% drop in gasoline sales.

Despite the poor retail numbers in the U.S., London’s FTSE 100 stock index is up 15.3 points, or 0.4%, to 4015.2, at midday. Frankfurt’s Xetra DAX index is up 43.65 points, or 1.5%, at 2953.6. In Paris, the CAC 40 index is up 43.08 points, or 1.5%, to 3006.71.

In Asia, stocks did well overnight. Tokyo stocks ended slightly higher. Investors bought converged on several companies that issued upbeat earnings reports Tuesday, including the East Japan Railway, Mitsubishi Chemical and Eisai Pharmaceutical.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong share prices edged lower for a second day as investors continued to cash in on big recent gains.

Here at home, Morningstar Canada is reporting that nine out of every 10 funds and 26 of 32 Morningstar Canada Fund Indices gained ground for the month. This is a big change from the first quarter, when 91% of funds and 26 of the indices were in the red. For April, 93% of the more than 4,600 Canadian funds surveyed by Morningstar earned money for investors. This is the best showing since November, when 95% of funds were in positive territory.