Toronto's main stock index looked set to open lower on Tuesday, as concerns over the impact of China's slowing economy weighed on commodity prices.
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.56 cents to 100.75 cents U.S.
Air Canada is again in the news. The private company that maintains some of the airline's planes laid off workers and filed for creditor protection on Monday, blaming the company for much of its financial difficulty.
Meantime, offshore stocks were set to retreat on Tuesday morning over concerns about China's appetite for commodities.
U.S. index futures were down with about 30 minutes before markets open, suggesting that stocks will fall at the start of trading. Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were down 67 points or 0.5% to 13,100. Futures for the broader S&P 500 were down 7.7 points or 0.6%, to 1,396.30, while Nasdaq futures were off 12.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,715.
In Europe, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 1.1% and Germany's DAX index was down 1.4%. Markets in Japan had the day off.
The setbacks come as investors fret over comments made by the head of BHP Billiton Ltd.'s iron ore division, who said that China's demand for the commodity was declining, feeding into broader concerns that China's demand for other commodities might be on the decline as its economy cools.
Commodity prices were generally down. Crude oil fell to $107.37 U.S. a barrel, down 0.7%. Gold fell to $1,650 U.S. an ounce, down 1%.
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