June 20, 2012 - 9:02 AM
TORONTO - The Toronto stock market is expected to take a cue from the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that wraps up later Wednesday, though weakness in commodities could weigh heavy.
The expectation is that the Fed will announce it is extending a program of buying long-term bonds to keep rates low, or at least signal a readiness to act should the economy sputter.
The Canadian dollar was up 0.13 of a cent at 98.34 cents US.
U.S. futures were higher with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead 20 points to 12,782. The Nasdaq futures gained eight points to 2.621 and the S&P 500 futures added 2.5 points to 1,353.
In commodities, the June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up five cents at US$84.08 a barrel.
August gold was off $18 at US$1,605.20 an ounce.
On the political front, Greece's socialist party head and former finance minister Evangelos Venizelos says that an agreement has been reached for a coalition government. Details on who will be in cabinet were still being discussed and would be finalized by Wednesday night.
Britain's FTSE100 index was up 0.43 per cent to 5,610.86 and Germany's DAX was up 0.19 per cent at 6,375.53. France's CAC 40 was down 0.16 per cent at 3,112.47.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.1 per cent to 8,752.30. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5 per cent to 19,518.85 and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.7 per cent to 1,904.12.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2012