Toronto's main stock index opened lower on Tuesday, as unease about the economy worked its way into the equation.
The S&P TSX Composite Index began Tuesday off 14.16 points to 12,422.26
The Canadian dollar gained 0.19 cents to 100.01 cents U.S., above parity with its American counterpart.
Canadian stocks to watch include Teck Resources Ltd., where workers of one union at its mid-sized Quebrada Blanca copper mine in northern Chile are poised to strike after labour contract negotiations with the mining company broke down, a union leader said on Monday.
A review of leadership structure by a committee of independent directors at Research In Motion has concluded that no future CEO or other employee can be chairperson of the BlackBerry maker.
Railway equipment whiz Bombardier Inc. said its train unit received a contract worth about 222 million Swiss francs for supplying trams to the transport authority of Basel, Switzerland.
Oil and gas company BlackPearl Resources Inc. said it missed its 2011 exit target forecast as some of its drilled wells in Onion Lake in Saskatchewan were not brought to production.
On matters economic, the economy contracted in November for the first time since May as oil and gas extraction declined sharply, setting the stage for a sluggish performance in the fourth quarter.
Real gross domestic product fell 0.1% in the month, according to Statistics Canada, contrasting with market expectations of 0.2% growth. The economy grew 2% compared with a year earlier.
The GDP had stalled in October following four straight months of expansion.
Elsewhere, the nation’s number-crunchers told us that December’s Industrial Product Price Index declined 0.7%, while the Raw Materials Price Index slid 2.4%, both the result of lower prices for petroleum and metals.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange regained 5.79 points to 1,629.30, while the Nasdaq Canada index faded 0.30 points to 412.77.
Of the 14 Toronto subgroups, nine were above ground in the day’s first hour. Metals and mining gained 0.6%, while industrials and consumer staples advanced 0.3% each.
The three worst-off groups of the five laggards were consumer discretionaries, energy and global base metals, each down 0.2%.
ON WALLSTREET
In New York, stocks moved higher Tuesday, after European Union leaders agreed to strengthen a financial firewall and sign a fiscal pact.
The Dow Jones Industrials struggled past breakeven by 4.09 points to 12,657.80
The S&P 500 was in the green 2.85 points to 1,315.86, while the tech-rich Nasdaq added 3.73 points to 2,815.67
Indeed, investors appear to have shrugged off a mixed bag of earnings from Exxon Mobil, UPS, Pfizer and Mattel and a dour report on U.S. home prices.
RadioShack shares plunged 29%, after the electronics retailer warned late Monday that its fourth-quarter earnings will fall far short of expectations.
Exxon Mobil shares dropped 0.5%, after the oil giant reported its quarterly earnings climbed to $9.4 billion U.S. on revenue of $121.6 billion U.S.
Mattel shares rose 5%, after the toymaker beat Wall Street estimates on quarterly earnings and raised its annual dividend 35%. Worldwide sales of Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and American Girl toys posted solid gains, although revenue overall fell short of analysts' expectations.
Mattel's top competitor, Hasbro, will release its corporate results Monday.
Pfizer was hurt in the fourth quarter by the loss of its patent for Lipitor, a drug for treating high cholesterol. But the drug maker still beat Wall Street expectations on earnings and revenue, sending its shares rising 0.3%.
UPS shares rose 0.3%, after the courier beat forecasts on earnings but fell short on revenue. In a statement, Kurt Kuehn, UPS's chief financial officer, said the company expects 2012 to bring "mixed economic growth around the world."
After the closing bell on Tuesday, online retailer Amazon will report its results.
During their meeting in Brussels, on Monday, European Union leaders agreed to implement the European Stability Mechanism, a permanent rescue fund, in July. The €500-billion ESM was originally set to enter into force next year, when a temporary bailout fund expires.
The leaders of all but two members of the 27-nation E.U. also agreed to sign a fiscal pact, which was designed to prevent governments from running excessive deficits and racking up unsustainable debts.
But the first summit of the year ended without new solutions for the debt crisis in Greece.
Without a deal with private-sector creditors, the country jeopardizes its access to bailout funds, and might not be able to make a €14-billion debt payment due March 20.
On the economic beat, the Case-Shiller 20-city home price index showed home prices dropped 1.3% month-over-month in November.
Later in the day, the January edition of the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index is set for release, as is the Congressional Budget Office's 10-year budget and economic outlook.
The Consumer Confidence Index is expected to hit 67 in January, up from 64.5 in the month prior, according to a survey of analysts by Briefing.com.
Treasury prices for the 10-year note were unchanged, likewise yields from Monday’s 1.84%.
Oil for February delivery regained $1.86 to $100.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $14.40 to $1,748.90 U.S. an ounce.
