Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market could head higher after the opening bell as investors respond to the soaring price of gold, which is nearing the US$1,300 an ounce mark.

The precious metal has been on a tear in recent sessions, consistently rising to new record highs.

The bullion futures contract for December was up $19.30 to $1,293.80 in electronic trading in New York, after briefly touching another new record of $1,296.50 an ounce.

Oil prices were also gaining some ground, with the benchmark crude for October delivery rising 66 cents to $75.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Canadian dollar opened at 97.75 cents US, up 0.36 of a cent from Tuesday’s close.

On Wall Street, stock futures were lower as traders turned to buying Treasurys and gold after the Federal Reserve failed to take any immediate steps to help the economy.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 22, or 0.2%, to 10,672. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures fell 2.80, or 0.3%, to 1,131.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 6.50, or 0.3%, to 1,979.00.

The Fed also said Tuesday afternoon it was ready to jump in to support growth if it was needed. That is a likely indication the central bank will eventually restart a program to purchase Treasurys and mortgage bonds to drive interest rates lower and spark an increase in borrowing and spending.

In corporate news, Microsoft Corp. shares dipped 30 cents to $24.85 in pre-opening trading after the company said it was raising its dividend for the first time in two years.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.9%, and France’s CAC-40 dropped 1%. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.4%.