U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday, with the upcoming release of a key report on the U.S. manufacturing sector, and details of the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting possibly setting market direction on the first trading day of the new year.

The U.S. Institute of Supply Management’s manufacturing index for December is due at 10:00 ET. Economists expect the manufacturing gauge to hold just above 50%, which would indicate an expansion in economic activity.

The minutes from the Fed’s last interest-rate setting meeting, where policy makers voted to cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 4.25%, are slated for release at 14:00 ET.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

Following the New Year’s Day holiday break, the Canadian dollar opened at US101.18¢, up three-tenths of a cent from Monday.

Crude-oil futures rose US$1.38 to US$97.36 a barrel. Gold futures climbed US$8.50 to US$846.40 an ounce.

Overseas stock markets were mixed, with the Hang Seng down 0.9% in Hong Kong and the FTSE 100 up 0.6% in London. Germany’s DAX index fell 0.02% and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.82%.

The Canadian dollar

Equities on the Toronto stock market closed out 2007 with a small gain on Monday as the S&P/TSX composite index ended a fifth straight year of gains.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed with a gain of 11.72, or 0.08%, at 13,833.06 on the day.

For the year, the benchmark index was up 7.2% after posting double-digits in each of the previous four years.

On Wall Street, stocks concluded 2007 with a losing session due to ongoing economic worries.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 101.05 points, or 0.76%, to end at 13,264.82. The S&P 500 slipped 10.13 points, or 0.69%, to 1,468.36. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index dropped 22.18 points, or 0.83%, to 2,652.28.

For the year, the Nasdaq composite index rose 9.8% — outshining the broad S&P 500, which gained 3.5%, and the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average, which climbed 6.4%.

TSX finishes 2007 up 7.2%