The buying mood on North American stock markets was expected to continue Wednesday as Wall Street futures suggested a strong start for regular trading on this side of the Atlantic while European indices moved higher.

Prices in Tokyo edged up on Wall Street’s gains as most Asian markets finished higher.

The Nikkei Stock Average of 225 issues advanced 83.52 points, or 0.75% to 11209.44 points. Traders were encouraged by the rise of U.S. markets on Tuesday, buying technology and banking shares. In Hong Kong, the share market dropped slightly as traders continued to sell stocks that had gained recently. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index lost 29.71 points or 0.21% finishing at 14151.08.

On Tuesday, investors were clearly in the Christmas spirit, as the Dow Jones industrial average hit a 3½-year high and the S&P/TSX composite hit its highest point in 2004.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 60.54 points or 0.66% to 9237.48. The TSX Venture Exchange was up 9.77 at 1746.68.

The Dow industrials rose 97.83 points or 0.92% to 10759.43. The Nasdaq was up 23.06 points to 2,150.91, while the S&P 500 gained 10.80 to 1,205.

The Canadian dollar dropped 0.11 of a cent to US81.23¢.

Scheduled reports due early Wednesday include the latest U.S. economic news — gross domestic product for the third quarter. Canadian GDP numbers are due Thursday.

Meanwhile, in other news early Wednesday or after markets closed Tuesday, Canada’s second-biggest pension fund and miner Sherritt International Corp. announced a $1.8-billion bid for steelmaker Stelco Inc. that would also see the construction of new power plants to expand Ontario’s electricity supply. Hours after Algoma Steel Inc. said it’s considering a bid for Stelco, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Sherritt said they have set up a partnership and submitted an offer for Stelco.

Also, crude oil futures edged lower Wednesday as traders awaited a weekly snapshot of U.S. petroleum inventories to gauge shifting reserves, especially of heating oil, as the Northern Hemisphere winter kicked in.

Research In Motion Ltd. said Tuesday that it had a more than five-fold profit increase in the past quarter and raised forecasts for the current quarter as sales of its BlackBerry e-mail device surge. RIM said it earned $90.4 million US or 46 cents a share in its third quarter ended Nov. 27. That compared with a year-ago profit of $16.3 million US or 10 cents per share.

In the U.S., the chief executive and top financial officer at mortgage giant Fannie Mae were forced out of the company Tuesday as America’s second-largest financial institution struggled with revelations of serious financial reporting problems.