Early trading on the futures markets as well as overseas markets are pointing to a positive open for equity markets Tuesday.

In Europe, at midday, Londons FTSE 100 index is up — 14 points to 3,954.3. The German DAX is up 0.5% and the Paris CAC-40 has risen 0.9%.

Asian stock markets closed higher overnight. South Asian governments reps met in Thailand yesterday to come to grips with the SARS crisis. The World Health Organization now says the epidemic under control everywhere except China, and the organization is considering lifting the travel advisory for Canada.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 309.18 points or 3.7% to 8,744.22. The Japanese market was closed for a national holiday.

In earnings news, the other major driver for equities investors, this week, two big Canadian resource companies are reporting strong first-quarter earnings. Petro-Canada’s profit grew almost sevenfold to $584 million, as revenue more than doubled to $3.5 billion. Placer Dome is reporting net earnings of US$64 million, up from $37 million a year ago.

In economic news, Statistics Canada is reporting that the estimated number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits in February moved up a slight 0.3% from January to 531,280. This was the first monthly rise since October and was primarily the result of increases in Ontario (+1.5%), Quebec (+0.6%) and Nova Scotia (+0.6%). These gains were partly offset by decreases in Prince Edward Island (-2.8%) and Alberta (-2.2%).

In the U.S., the employment news is equally poor. The Commerce Department is reporting that employment costs rose by the biggest amount in nearly 13 years during the first quarter, fueled by surging benefit costs. The employment cost index, which measures the cost of hiring and retaining civilian workers, rose 1.3% from January through March, the biggest rise since June 1990, and nearly double the 0.7% rise in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Wall Street is facing investor reaction to a pact involving 10 of America’s largest securities firms. They have agreed to pay a record $1.4 billion to settle government charges involving abuse of investors during the stock-market bubble of the late 1990s.

The settlement follows an investigation by three national regulatory bodies and a dozen state securities authorities. It centers on civil charges that the Wall Street firms routinely issued overly optimistic stock research to investors in order to curry favor with corporate clients and win their lucrative investment-banking business.