North American markets are expected to open higher Tuesday, as the U.S. federal election finally gets under way.

There are no major economic releases due on either side of the border today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US81.61¢, down 0.19 of a cent from Monday’s close. The loonie had dropped 0.3 of a cent Monday after hitting a 12-year high last Friday.

In this morning’s earnings news, Talisman Energy Inc. reported a lower third quarter profit as some non-operating expenses and tax effects offset higher production and revenues.

Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns major horse racetracks across North America, said its third quarter loss jumped to US$50.3 million after asset writedowns earlier in the year.

Politics was on the minds of U.S. investors as oil prices, sent lower by speculators betting on a U.S. election win for Senator John Kerry, pushed markets into the black on Monday.

Falling oil prices hurt Canadian markets Monday, but most of the damage was done by falling gold stocks.

At close, the S&P/TSX composite index was off 12.74 points or 0.14% at 8,858.23 and the TSX Venture composite index slipped 22.37 or 1.37% at 1,607.65.

U.S. light crude settled down $1.63 to US$50.13 after diving as low as US$49.30 a barrel, breaking below $50 the first time in nearly a month.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial finished the day ahead by 26.92 points or 0.27% to 10,054.39, as the blue-chip index extended its winning streak to five sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 4.88 or 0.25% to 1,979.87 while the S&P 500 was almost unchanged, up a mere 0.31 of a point to 1,130.51.

Trading on both sides of the border was light as many investors sat on the sidelines preferring to wait until all the votes are counted Tuesday evening in an election that many say is too close to call.

PeopleSoft jumped $2.16, or 10%, to US$22.93, after Oracle Corp. raised its offer for the company to US$24 a share from US$21, increasing the pressure on the smaller software company to give up its 17-month fight against the bid. The US$8.8 billion offer is final, Oracle said in a statement. Oracle added 9¢ to US$12.75.