U.S. stock futures pointed higher Wednesday after a government report showed that new U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods unexpectedly rebounded in February, rising for the first time in seven months.

The U.S. Commerce Department said Wednesday that durable goods orders rose 3.4% to US$165.6 billion in February, the biggest increase since December 2007, after a revised 7.3% plunge the prior month, previously reported as a 4.5% decline.

Later this morning, the U.S. government is expected to release a report showing that sales of new homes fell 2.9% in February to a record low.

Investors will also be paying close attention to a speech from U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Here at home, the Canadian dollar opened at US81.16¢, down 0.02 of a cent from Tuesday’s close.

In today’s earnings news, AGF Management Ltd. said its profit for the fiscal first quarter fell by 80% compared with a year earlier, in part because of high loan-loss provisions at it trust division.

Net income fell to $12.2 million, or 14¢ a share for the three months ended Feb. 28, down from $62.7 million, or 70 cents a share, for the same period in 2008.

In today’s commodity news, benchmark crude for May delivery was down US$1.08 to US$52.90 a barrel by midday in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In M&A news, the UK’s Premier Oil agreed to buy the North Sea unit of Canada’s Oilexco Inc. for $505 million.

Overseas, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% in Tokyo and the Hang Seng fell 1.9% in Hong Kong.

European markets turned higher with the FTSE 100 up 0.1% in London.

On Tuesday, the Toronto Stock Exchange backed away from the previous day’s gains to shed more than 1%, dragged lower by energy stocks.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 109.12 points, or 1.2%, to close at 8,849.39.

The energy group gave up 2.7% as oil futures finished the day lower.

Financial stocks also retreated to finish the day down 2%.

Junior companies on the TSX Venture Exchange finished the day flat. The S&P/TSX Venture composite index edged up just 0.26 points to close at 924.29.

In New York, news that the U.S. government was calling for more regulatory oversight of financial firms sent equities lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 115.49 points, or 1.5%, to close at 7,660.37.

The S&P 500 index shed 16.49 points, or 2%, to stand at 806.43.

The Nasdaq composite dropped 37.12 points, or 2.4%, to 1,518.65.

IE