North American stocks look set to open flat Wednesday, after the market rallied yesterday on the heels of a Federal Reserve statement that hinted the Fed nearly finished raising short-term interest rates.

In Toronto, the income trust sector should see some action. Standard & Poor’s announced late Tuesday that the S&P/TSX composite will add 72 publicly traded trusts when trading opens next Monday.

In this morning’s economic news, the U.S. trade deficit broke yet another record in October, growing beyond expectations as rising purchases of foreign oil, natural gas and other goods from overseas offset increased exports.

The U.S. deficit in international trade of goods and services widened 4.4% to US$68.89 billion, the Commerce Department said.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said increased exports of Canada’s natural resources to the United States pushed values above $40 billion in October, marking the eighth consecutive rise in shipments abroad.

Separately, the government agency said the transportation equipment sector was again the key mover in October as a sizable jump in motor vehicle manufacturing boosted total manufacturing shipments by 0.9% to $52 billion.

Meanwhile, new contracts in the aerospace industry led to a 1.4% surge in unfilled orders.

Crude-oil prices held above US$61 a barrel Wednesday ahead of a U.S. petroleum inventory report expected to show declines. Light sweet crude for January rose 2¢ to US$61.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar opened at US87.28¢, up 0.46 of a cent.

Among stocks to watch Wednesday, shares of Apple Computer were down 2.9% in pre-market trading after the company’s rating was cut by both Bank of America and Bear Stearns.

Overseas, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 stock index dropped sharply, falling 2% despite the upbeat results of the central bank’s quarterly economic survey.

Markets in Germany and France fell, while the UK’s FTSE-100 rose slightly.

North American markets ended higher Tuesday, with rising oil prices pushing up the energy sector in Toronto and the Fed’s decision fuelling New York markets.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 38.18, or 0.34%, to 11,137.44.

Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd. agreed to purchase Luke Energy Ltd. and its natural gas assets for $203 million in a cash-and-stock deal. Connacher lost 22¢, or 5.53%, to $3.76, while Luke gained 29¢, or 6.44%, to $4.79.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 1.26, or 0.06%, to 2,141.63.

In New York, suggestions from the Fed that it was nearing the end of its rate-hiking cycle served to strengthen the markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 55.95 points to 10,823.72, after hitting an intra-day high of 10,871.51, the Nasdaq Composite index rose 4.05 points to 2,265 while the S&P 500 Index was up 7 points at 1,267.43.