TORONTO – The Toronto stock market looked set for a higher open Monday as traders hope to get some clarity on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve thinks economic conditions are improving to a point where it can let up on stimulus measures.

The Canadian dollar was up 0.11 of a cent to 98.45 cents US amid sharply higher crude prices.

U.S. futures were well into positive territory a day ahead of the start of the Fed’s scheduled two-day interest rate meeting.

The Dow Jones industrial futures jumped 115 points to 15,103, the Nasdaq futures climbed 27.25 points to 2,964.25 and the S&P 500 futures were ahead 12.75 points to 1,631.25.

Markets have been volatile since late May when Fed chairman Ben Bernanke first mentioned that the central bank would consider cutting back on its US$85 billion of bond purchases each month if economic data — particularly job growth — improved.

But the stimulus measures, known as quantitative easing, have been popular as they have kept interest and bond yields low and kept a rally going on stock markets practically non-stop since late last year.

The Fed meeting wraps up Wednesday afternoon, followed by a news conference by Bernanke.

Speculation on the Fed tapering its bond purchases resulted in a 1.17 per cent slide last week while the TSX gave back 1.5 per cent. At the same time, bond yields have been rising, pushing mortgage rates higher.

In corporate news, Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (TSX:BAM.A) is selling its Longview forestry assets in the U.S. Pacific Northwest through deals totalling nearly $3.7 billion. Weyerhaeuser Co. (NYSE:WY) will acquire Brookfield’s Longview Timber for $2.65 billion. KapStone Paper and Packaging (NYSE:KS) will acquire Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging for $1.025 billion from the Toronto-based company.

Commodity prices were mixed Monday as July crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 57 cents to US$98.42 a barrel.

July copper declined two cents to US$3.19 a pound and August bullion fell $2.50 to US$1,385.10 an ounce.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225, the regional heavyweight, jumped 2.7 per cent, extending Friday’s 2.4 per cent gain. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.2 per cent while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.7 per cent while South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.3 per cent. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed.

European bourses were higher as London’s FTSE 100 gained 0.87 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX was up 1.33 per cent and the Paris CAC 40 rose 1.5 per cent.