North American stocks appear set to open higher Wednesday following earnings reports from heavyweights Boeing, PepsiCo, and Colgate-Palmolive.

In today’s economic news, the U.S. Commerce Department said orders for new durable goods increased 6.1% in March, led by strong demand for airplanes, machinery and electronics, far exceeding the 1.6% increased expected by economists.

Not counting the 14% rise in transportation goods, new orders rose 2.8% in March, the biggest gain since August. Orders for core capital equipment goods — the best indication of business investment plans — increased 3% in March.

Data on U.S. March new home sales will be released at 10:00 ET, with economists expecting figures to rise to 1.1 million from 1.08 million last month.

Crude-oil futures were down slightly, but still hovered near the US$73 a barrel level ahead of weekly energy supplies data.

In earnings news, Boeing reported a 29% rise in first-quarter profit on 12% revenue growth, thanks in part to an increase in commercial airplane deliveries.

PepsiCo said first-quarter profit jumped as revenue across all its divisions increased.

Colgate reported higher first-quarter net income, which rose 8.1%.

EnCana Corp. said it is boosting its quarterly dividend after first-quarter net profit jumped to US$1.47 billion on a huge accounting gain, while operating profit rose 14% to US$694 million.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. reported lower profits in the first quarter as a pricing dispute cut fertilizer shipments to China.

The Canadian dollar opened at US88.28¢, down 0.08 of a cent. On Tuesday, the loonie had risen 0.33 of a cent as the Bank of Canada raised interest rates another quarter-point.

Overseas, most major international stock markets rose. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index finished the day up 0.5% as auto maker Honda Motor said profit more than doubled.

In Europe, the German DAX Xetra 30 Index closed flat, off earlier highs, as memory chipmaker Infineon narrowed its loss. The FTSE-100 Index slipped 0.2% in London on weakness in oil giant BP and supermarket Tesco.

Toronto stocks declined Tuesday, as investors absorbed indications from the Bank of Canada, which raised rates a quarter-point today, that further rate hikes might be needed.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 12.44 points, or 0.10%, to 12,329.79.

The central bank raised its key overnight rate to 4%. The loonie was up 0.33 of a cent to US88.36¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 0.86, or 0.03%, to 3,094.99.

In New York, markets fell as investors showed inflation concerns.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 53.07 points to 11,283.25, the Nasdaq composite ondex dropped 3.08 points to 2,330.30, while the S&P 500 Index finished down 6.37 points at 1,301.74.