Stocks are likely to climb at the open Wednesday, as oil prices climbed past US$64 a barrel.

Crude-oil prices edged higher Wednesday, up 26¢ to US$64.02 a barrel as traders awaited U.S. inventory data that was expected to show crude supplies falling. On Tuesday, oil prices settled near a six-month low.

In today’s economic news, Statistics Canada reported labour productivity in the Canadian business sector fell by 0.4% between April and June. That’s the first time in two years that productivity has slipped into negative territory. On a year-over-year basis, productivity growth has declined from 2.1% in the first quarter to 1.4% in the second quarter of 2006, the government agency said.

Labour costs per unit of output, a key measure of inflationary pressure on wages, continued to rise at a slow pace in the second quarter, up 0.3%, StatsCan said.

The Canadian dollar opened at US89.4¢, up 0.07 of a cent.

In M&A news, Canada’s Aber Diamond Corp. is paying US$157 million to acquire the remaining 47% of famed jeweller Harry Winston Inc.

In earnings news, Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers reported a 4% increase in revenue from a year ago, as the bank shook off tougher market conditions to report strong gains in sales and trading, although investment banking activity slowed.

European markets edged higher Wednesday, with the UK’s FTSE 100 index climbing 0.2%, helped by well-received earnings from BAE Systems.

Asian markets ended higher, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbing climbing 30.71 points, or 0.2% to finish at 15,750.05 points.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index edged up 134.64 points, or 0.8%, to 17,210.04.

Toronto stocks rose Tuesday, after several sessions of significant losses, as gains in the financials and technology sectors offset continuing declines in commodities.

The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 22.34, or 0.19%, to 11,678.91.

Six of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up, but the energy sector fell 1.01%.

Research in Motion rose $2.63, or 2.92%, to $92.68, while Telus Corp., which announced Monday its intentions to convert itself into an income trust, gained $2.10, or 3.51%, to $61.90.

The S&P/TSX Venture Exchange index lost 2.96, or 0.11%, to 2,601.47.

In New York, lower commodity prices fuelled a rally on the major indices.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 101.25 points to 11,498.09, the Nasdaq composite index soared 42.57 points to 2,215.82, and the S&P 500 climbed 13.58 points to 1,313.12.