Wall Street stock futures Tuesday pointed to an extension of the previous day’s rally, after better-than-expected quarterly earnings from Home Depot.

Early Tuesday, Home Depot said its fiscal first-quarter profit climbed 44% on fewer charges.

The home improvement retailer earned US$514 million, or 30¢ a share, for the quarter ended May 3, compared with US$356 million, or 21¢ a share, a year ago.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.44¢, up 1.63 cents from Friday’s close.

South of the border, the U.S. Department of Commerce reports on building permits and housing starts for April. Economists forecast 530,000 permits issued and 520,000 starts, both annualized.

In financial news, American Express said late Monday it’s cutting 4,000 jobs as it looks to save US$800 million a year.

In commodities news, benchmark crude for June delivery was up 87¢ to US$59.90 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange

In other news, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review cases against Conrad Black and two former colleagues who were accused of siphoning more than US$6 million from his media conglomerate, Hollinger International Inc.

Overseas, Asia markets climbed following higher, catching wave of optimism from Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average rose 251.60 points, or 2.8%, to 9,290.29. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbed 521.12, or 3.1%, to 17,544.03.

In Europe, the UK’s 12-month consumer price inflation slowed to 2.3% in April while retail prices sank at their fastest pace since records began in 1948, official data showed Tuesday.

The UK’s FTSE 100 Index added 1.4% to 4,506.74 and the French CAC-40 picked up 1.2% to 3,285.35. Germany’s DAX rose 2.3% to 4,960.92.

On Monday, U.S. stocks powered ahead as better-than-expected results from U.S. home improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos Inc. buoyed investor optimism that the recession is easing.

Lowe’s raised its full-year forecast due to signs that the U.S. housing market’s decline may be ebbing.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 235.44 points, or 2.85 %, to 8,504.08. The S&P 500 rose 26.83 points, or 3.04 %, to 909.71. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index shot up 52.22 points, or 3.11 %, to 1,732.36.

In commodities news, U.S. front-month crude rose US$2.69, or 4.8 %, to settle at $59.03 a barrel, the highest close since Nov. 11, 2008.

Canadian financial markets were closed for the Victoria Day holiday.

IE