North American stock markets are expected to rise Wednesday buoyed by slight declines in record prices for crude oil.

Saudi Arabia’s influential oil minister said Wednesday he would push for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to raise its output ceiling by 2.5 million barrels a day, or 11%, when the group meets Thursday in the Beirut.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

In other business news, Nortel Networks and Descartes Systems are both scheduled to update their financial reports in light of misstated revenue. In an early release, Descartes reported a first-quarter loss of US$28.9 million.

Shares in Europe are higher in midday trading as oil prices eased after hitting record levels in New York Tuesday.

London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.78% at 4,457.3, while in Paris the CAC 40 Index is ahead 1% at 3,661.44. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax has risen 0.78% to 3,894.31.

Asian markets closed mixed overnight. Japan’s Nikkei fell 54.42 points to 11,242.34.

Hong Kong shares rebounded as the Hang Seng Index climbed 96.20 points to 12,201.75.

In earnings news, sporting goods retailer Forzani Group reported its first-quarter profit rose to $1.6 million from a year-earlier $1.2 million.

On Tuesday, stock markets posted small gains as worries about the impact of a record price for oil weighed against positive economic news in the United States.

Light crude for July delivery settled at $42.33 US per barrel, up $2.45 or six per cent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a weekend terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia left 22 people dead, mostly foreign oil workers. The previous record closing price for crude at NYMEX was $41.72, set on May 24.

Another benchmark crude, West Texas Intermediate, close at $41.80 US, up $1.90.

The increase came as U.S. construction spending registered its best month on record in April and manufacturing activity expanded in May.

On Monday, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index gained 1.06 points to 8,418.38, while the junior TSX Venture composite index fell 6.77 points to 1,603.22.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 14.20 points to 10,202.65. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index added 4.03 points to 1,990.77, while the S&P 500 gained 0.52 points to 1,121.2.