North American stocks may open lower Tuesday after a weak revenue forecast from tech-bellwether Texas Instruments.

Texas Instruments said late Monday that strong demand for its chips from cellphone and television makers boosted third-quarter net 12%. But its shares fell in after-hours trading after the company forecast fourth-quarter sales of between US$3.43 billion and US$3.72 billion, below Wall Street’s estimate.

In economic news, Statistics Canada said soaring gasoline prices pushed the annual inflation rate to 3.4% in September from 2.6% in August. The core rate of inflation, which excludes the eight most volatile categories, held steady at 1.7%.

South of the border, reports are due on September existing-home sales and October consumer confidence later this morning.

In earnings news, burgeoning demand for overland transportation capacity drove Canadian Pacific Railway to a third-quarter profit of $204 million, up 15% from the $177 million it earned in the same period a year earlier, the company said today.

Inco Ltd. said its third-quarter earnings sank to US$62 million from a year-earlier US$142 million.

Steel maker Ipsco reported third-quarter net income of $133.6 million, or $2.77 a share, compared with $144.5 million, or $2.76 a share, a year earlier.

Crude-oil prices rose 18¢ to US$60.50 a barrel in early trading Tuesday.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 1.3% to 13280.62. London’s FTSE 100 was off 0.3% recently under pressure from weakness at BP.

Toronto stocks finished higher Monday, as investors continued to buy back into the market, despite a lower price for oil, after sell-off sessions earlier this month.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 69.92, or 0.68%, to 10,360.79.

The financial sector fell slightly, off 0.05%. The Toronto-Dominion Bank fell 33¢, or 0.59%, to $55.57 as its U.S. banking business TD Banknorth reported a third-quarter profit fall of 9%.

The Canadian dollar lifted 0.09 of a cent at US84.25¢.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 6.44, or 0.32%, to 1,993.22.

In New York, markets rallied as investors showed their approval of president George W. Bush’s pick for the new Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke. The current Fed chair, Alan Greenspan, is set to retire in January.

The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average gained 169.78 points, or 1.66% to close at 10,385, the broader S&P 500 Index advanced 19.76 points, or 1.68%, to finish at 1,199.35 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index was up 33.62 points, or 1.61%, to end 2,115.83.