The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market looked set for a higher open Thursday as oil prices moved ahead and investors took in positive earnings reports that provided some optimism about the U.S. economy.

The Canadian dollar was ahead 0.59 of a cent to US94.51¢.

U.S. futures pointed to a higher open after the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the economy is improving. The central bank also said it was keeping its key interest rate unchanged at 0.25% — and said they would stay low for an extended period.

The Dow Jones industrial futures rose 46 points to 10,241, the Nasdaq futures were ahead seven points to 1,816 and the S&P 500 futures advanced 4.7 points to 1,099.3.

The February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange climbed 59¢ to US$74.26 a barrel after two days of declines.

Gold prices were also higher, with the February bullion contract on the Nymex ahead $7.20 to US$1,091.70 an ounce, while March copper dipped a cent to US$3.21.

The Canadian earnings season gained momentum with Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd (TSX:CP) reporting that its profit in the fourth quarter was up 3% to $194 million from the comparable period of 2008. Total revenue was down 16% to $1.1 billion.

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (TSX:POT) says its fourth quarter profit was down to $243.6 million or 80¢ a share compared with the year-earlier results. Sales revenue also fell, to about $1.1 billion in quarter from nearly $1.9 billion in the comparable period of 2008.

Elsewhere in the fertilizer sector, BHP Billiton Canada Inc. has agreed to pay about $341 million to acquire Athabasca Potash Inc. (TSX:API) in a friendly agreement. The offer is the equivalent of $8.35 cash per Athabasca share. Its stock closed at $6.70 Wednesday on the TSX.

Electronics manufacturer Celestica (TSX:CLS), which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported a quarterly profit of US$31.1 million or 13¢ per diluted share. That compared with a loss of $822.2 million or $3.58 per share a year ago, when the company took a one-time charge of $850.5 million. Revenue was down from $1.94 billion last year but in line with the average analyst estimate.

In the U.S., Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) had a US$2.7-billion profit last year, its first annual profit in four years, and also expects a full-year profit in 2010. That compared to a record US$14.6 billion loss in 2008. In the fourth quarter, Ford earned $868 million, or 25¢ per share, compared with a loss of $5.9 billion a year earlier.

Stocks around the world had been in retreat for most of the last week in the wake of U.S. president Barack Obama’s announcement that he plans to impose restrictions on banks’ more risky trading activities. There has also been mounting speculation that China is looking to rein in bank lending to prevent a nasty inflationary spike.

But investors were lifted by Fed comments Wednesday that “economic activity has continued to strengthen” since its last meeting in December even though it failed to repeat its previous assertion that the housing market was improving.

And on Wednesday night in his State of the Union address, Obama said the government should take new actions to bolster the economy and create jobs.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.6%.

London’s FTSE 100 index was ahead 0.58%, Frankfurt’s DAX gained 0.55% while the Paris CAC 40 climbed 0.72%.