Stock futures climbed Tuesday morning as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest decision on interest rates.

Tuesday’s focus will be on Fed policy makers, with a rate decision and outlook due at 14:15 ET. Investors waiting to see if the central bank will cut rates, and by how much, in response to housing- and credit-market woes.

The Canadian dollar opened at US99.02¢, down about two-fifths of a U.S. cent from Monday’s close.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

Crude-oil futures rose 62¢ to US$88.48 a barrel, while gold futures slipped US$1.70 to US$811.80 an ounce.

In earnings news, Texas Instruments narrowed its fourth-quarter outlook.

H&R Block’s fiscal second-quarter net loss widened amid charges related to the dismantling of its Option One Mortgage unit as it exits from the U.S. housing market.

AT&T said it is raising its quarterly dividend 12.7% to US40¢ a share from US35.5¢.

In other market news, without admitting wrongdoing, major drugmaker Biovail Corp. agreed to pay US$138 million to settle class-action shareholder litigation in the United States.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 closed with an 0.8% rise in Tokyo. The FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% in London.

North American stocks rose Monday, as investors anticipated an additional cut in interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index gained 77.39, or 0.56%, to close at 13,940.36. Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups finished higher on the session.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index moved up 20.78, or 0.76%, to 2,751.27.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 101.45 points, or 0.74%, to 13,727.03, the Nasdaq composite index gained 12.79, or 0.47%, to 2,718.95, and the S&P 500 advanced 11.30, or 0.75%, to 1,515.96.