Stocks look set for a strong opening rally this morning, as traders come to believe that yesterday’s plane crash in New York was probably an accident, and not the work of terrorists.

Names such as General Electric, Cisco, and Juniper are looking up in pre-market trading.

Also, Home Depot’s third-quarter profit was up to US$778 million, a 20% gain year over year.

The U.S. dollar is up against the euro and the yen on reports that the Taliban have fled the Afghan capital of Kabul, and ebbing fears over yesterday’s plane crash.

In Europe, stocks are already rallying strongly off yesterday’s lows. Airlines and insurers such as Air France SA and Zurich Financial Services AG led the way. However, Vodafone Group plc saw its first-half loss double to US$14 billion. Swiss banking giant UBS AG saw its third-quarter profit fall 56%.

In London, the FTSE is up 107 points to 5,253. In Paris, the CAC 40 has gained 147 points to 4,523. Germany’s DAX is up 101 points to 4,922.

Overnight in Asia, traders were more cautious and stocks closed mixed. The Nikkei lost 51 points to 10,031. The Hang Seng added 70 points to 10,663.