Wall Street stock futures climbed on Tuesday after better-than-expected readings on U.S. retail sales and New York-area manufacturing.

U.S. retail sales soared 2.7% in August as car dealers received a big boost from the government’s “cash for clunkers” program. While much of the sales gain came from cars and gasoline, other sales rose 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey’s business conditions index climbed to 18.88 in September, the highest level since late 2007, from 12.08 in August.

As well, U.S. producer prices rebounded sharply last month on the back of rising gasoline and other energy costs, though core prices posted only a slight gain. The producer price index gained 1.7% in August, while core wholesale prices climbed 0.2%.

Here at home, Statistics Canada said the number of new motor vehicles sold in July climbed 5.3% to 126,665 units, reflecting especially strong sales in Ontario.

Sales of both passenger cars and trucks were up, StatsCan said.

Separately, StatsCan said the labour productivity of Canadian businesses did not change in the second quarter, marking the fifth consecutive quarter with little variation.

Unit labour cost increased 0.3% in the second quarter, a drop from the increases of 0.8% in the first quarter and 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2008.

In earnings news, electronics retailer Best Buy said that its fiscal second-quarter earnings declined a bigger-than-expected 22% as sales continued to fall and the company’s international business swung to a loss.

Overseas, Europe stocks were mixed after a weaker-than-forecast rise in German investor sentiment. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.2% to 5,030.90, the German DAX slipped 0.1% to 5,615.36 while the French CAC-40 rose 0.3% to 3,741.32.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 rose se 0.2% to 10,217.62 in Tokyo, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended 0.3% lower at 20,866.37 amid weak trading volumes. Hong Kong markets were closed for the morning session due to a typhoon warning, and opened only for a 90-minute trading session in the afternoon.

On Monday, the Toronto Stock Exchange kicked off the week with gains, as strength in financial sector stocks offset weakness in the materials group.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 78.81 points, or 0.7%, to close at 11,332.04.

The financials group rose 1.3% on Monday.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index retreated by 8.06 points, or 0.6%, to close at 1,253.83.

In New York, U.S. equities also finished with gains on Monday, as strength in utility, financial and industrial sector stocks helped the market recover from early-day losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 21.39 points, or 0.2%, to end at 9,626.80.

The S&P 500 index climbed 6.61 points, or 0.6%, to 1,049.34.

The Nasdaq composite index gained 10.88 points, or 0.5%, to 2,091.78.

IE

Monday wrap: Financial stocks buoy TSX