TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was set for a substantial advance at the open Tuesday amid rising optimism that European officials will come up with a resolution to the region’s debt problems. The Canadian dollar was up sharply as a greater appetite for risk weakened the U.S. dollar and pushed commodity prices higher. The currency rose 0.7 of a cent to 97.95 cents US. U.S. futures ran ahead, signalling more gains on top of solid advances on Monday, after European ministers told a meeting of global finance leaders in Washington over the weekend that they would take bolder and more decisive steps to pull Greece back from the brink of bankruptcy. Reports said that officials were working on a plan to recapitalize banks in the eurozone, using leverage to bolster the European Financial Stability Facility, the euro zone’s bailout fund. The Dow Jones industrial futures shot up 188 points to 11,160, the Nasdaq futures rose 36.75 points to 2,262.75 and the S&P 500 futures gained 20.6 points to 1,179. There was also relief after Greece’s finance minister said Tuesday that the country will receive the next batch of bailout loans amounting to euro8 billion in time to avoid a potentially disastrous default. Hopes that European officials can get a grip on the government debt crisis improved demand prospects and pushed commodity prices up sharply. The November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange advanced $2.74 to US$82.96 while the December copper contract on the Nymex was up 13 cents to US$3.41. Bullion prices also recovered with the December contract ahead $74.10 to US$1,668.90 an ounce. Stocks also registered solid gains on Monday amid renewed optimism over the European debt crisis, with both the TSX and the Dow up about 250 points after both indexes dropped about seven per cent last week, with investors also worried that global economies were slipping back into recession. The drop last week had left the TSX about 20 per cent below its highs for the year. In Asia overnight, Japan’s Nikkei 225 shot up 2.8 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi rallied five per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 4.2 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index ended 3.4 per cent higher. London's FTSE 100 index gained 3.07 per cent, Frankfurt's DAX surged 4.07 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 shot up 4.15 per cent. In corporate news, global miner Rio Tinto PLC has bought another 3.7 million shares of Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. raising its stake in the Vancouver-based gold and copper miner (TSX:IVN) to 49 per cent, the maximum level allowed under a deal between the two companies. On Monday, Ivanhoe shares closed at their lowest level in more than a year as the company fought back against an attempt by the Mongolian government to take a bigger stake in its massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-and-gold project. Silver Standard Resources Inc. (TSX:SSO) said Tuesday its revising its estimates after the Pirquitas mill in Argentina was shut down due to gearbox failure. The Vancouver-based miner said silver guidance is being reduced to 7.3 million to 7.6 million ounces for 2011. In June, Silver Standard estimated silver production of 8.5 million ounces for the year.

Source