The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market could be in for a slightly higher open as oil prices advance and investors take in earnings reports.

The Canadian dollar was off 0.08 of a cent to US94.04¢.

U.S. futures also pointed to a positive start to the trading day with the Dow Jones industrial futures up 12 points to 10,150, the Nasdaq futures advanced 2.25 points to 1,798.75 and the S&P 500 futures gained 0.6 of a point to 1,087.8.

Trading could be cautious in advance of U.S. president Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight and the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate-setting meeting at mid-afternoon.

While the Fed is unlikely to raise interest rates at this meeting, the statement it releases will be reviewed to determine when it might have to hike rates to fight potential inflation. Investors will also want to get the group’s take on the economic recovery.

The market has been spooked in recent days by President Barack Obama’s push to restrict trading by major financial institutions and concerns Fed chairman Ben Bernanke might not be reappointed.

Particularly overhanging the Toronto market have been moves by China to curb bank lending.

The worry is that tighter monetary policy in China to check inflationary pressures could kill off the limited economic recovery around the world.

Demand concerns have pressured oil prices in the past week but on Wednesday the March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 31¢ to US$75.02 a barrel.

Bullion prices headed lower with the February gold contract on the Nymex down $3.20 to US$1,095.10 an ounce while March copper declined 3¢ to US$3.31.

Earnings appear to be giving the market a modest boost. Yahoo Inc. reported better-than-expected results after the market closed Tuesday. The Internet company also provided a promising outlook.

But Caterpillar shares were down about 2.5% in pre-market trading as the world’s biggest mining and construction equipment company reported fourth quarter profit of US$232 million, down 65% from a year ago. The company says it is seeing growth in China and other developing countries even as North America, Europe and Japan rebound more slowly.

Boeing shares were down slightly as the airplane maker gave a cautious outlook for 2010 after dealing with program delays and declining orders in 2009. The airplane maker and defence contractor expects to earn US$3.70 to US$4 per share. Wall Street analysts were expecting $4.26. Boeing posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.27 billion, reversing an US$86 million loss from a year ago.

Here at home, AGF Management Ltd. said its net income rose to $45.5 million, or 50¢ per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, from a year-earlier loss of $19.3 million or 21¢ per share. Revenue increased to $157.7 million, up 3.6% from $152.2 million a year earlier.

Canadian National Railway Co. (TSX:CNR) said Tuesday its profits increased to $582 million in the fourth quarter despite lower revenues. The railway also increased its quarterly dividend to 27¢ per share, up from 25¢. The Montreal-based railway said it is aiming for a double-digit earnings growth over the $3.24 per share achieved in 2009

Overseas markets fell again because of concerns about China’s move to curb bank lending.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.7% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 0.4%.

London’s FTSE 100 index was off 0.76%, Frankfurt’s DAX was down 0.37% and the Paris CAC 40 declined 0.79%.