Futures markets are pointing to a modestly positive open on equities markets Wednesday. Futures are being driven by some positive earnings reports from some big names.

AOL Time Warner posted a first-quarter net profit of US$396 million. AT&T is reporting a net profit of US$571 million in the first quarter, despite a 5.9% fall in revenue due to a decline in long-distance services.

Unfortunately the earnings is not so good in Canada. Noranda reported a first-quarter net loss of $59 million, including a $30-million restructuring charge. Stelco lost $44 million in the first quarter. CP Ships lost US$21 million.

In Europe, though, markets are up at midday. London’s FT-SE 100 is up 1.7% to 3,983.7. Frankfurt1s Dax is up 1%. Paris1s CAC 40 is up 2.7%.

Overnight in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei average rose slightly, up 2.92 points to 7,793.38. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 52.31 points to 8,519.60.

Here at home, Statistics Canada is reporting that retail sales rose 1.5% to a record high of $26.5 billion in February, after increasing 0.9% in January. A strong rebound in auto sales by motor and recreational vehicle dealers and sizable price-induced increases in sales by gasoline service stations were behind February’s gain. On the other hand, if sales from autos and gasoline — the latter, based on temporary factors such as the hostilities in Iraq — retail sales declined 0.3% in February.

StatsCan is also reporting an increase between March 2002 and March 2003, the Consumer Price Index of 4.3%. But that’s less than the 4.6% climb recorded in February. Perhaps, ironically given the retail sales report, the slowdown is explained in large part by a weaker increase in gasoline prices.

The impact of these mediocre economic reports won’t be helped by a warning issued by the World Health Organization that Toronto is one of the three principal places for travellers to avoid due to the SARS virus.

The Bank of Canada’s latest monetary policy report, due later this morning, will be the next piece of economic news for investors to scrutinize.

In other news, the Wall Street Journalis reporting that American federal prosecutors plan to criminally charge the former star technology-industry CSFB investment banker for the, Frank Quattrone. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, is expected to lay the charge today. The will be the only criminal action taken so far against any of the Wall Street bankers and analysts whose stock-market bubble actions have been the subject of regulatory scrutiny.