Stocks look set to rise this morning. The bulls are taking charge in the futures market. In Canada, traders are likely to be looking to tomorrow’s interest rate decision.

In the U.S., earnings season is in full swing. AOL Time Warner Inc. is leading the way higher, after positive notice from Barron’s on the weekend. There’s plenty of earnings news driving trading too, with Eli Lilly & Co.’s first-quarter profit sliding 22%, Bank of America Corp.’s earnings up 17%, and Citigroup Inc. jumping 37% in the quarter.

In Canada, Fording Inc. announced that net income for the quarter improved to $17 million, rising 31%. Slocan Forest Products Ltd. said that it had net earnings of $8.5 million for the first quarter. This compares to the fourth quarter net loss of $16.1 million and a first quarter 2001 net loss of $4.3 million.

In Europe, stocks are up on average. Alcatel SA said its first-quarter loss narrowed. The FTSE is up 39 points to 5200. The CAC 40 has added 41 points to 4510. Also, the DAX is up 39 points to 5229.

Overnight in Asia, stocks rose too. The Nikkei gained 174 points to 11137. The Hang Seng gained 18 points to 10728.

In M&A news, National Bank Financial Inc. is buying U.S. based investment bank Putnam Lovell Group Inc. No price was disclosed on the long-rumoured deal.

AT&T Wireless Services Inc. is said to be in merger talks with Cingular Wireless. And Northrop Grumman has raised its hostile bid for TRW Inc. to US$12.2 billion.

In other news, Sleeman Breweries Ltd. announced the appointment of David Meyers as president and COO.