Markets in Toronto faded slightly after the opening bell, amid Europe's spiraling debt worries and the grim outlook for Spain that might team up keep a lid on gains.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dipped 24.41 points to open Tuesday trading at 11,305.98
The Canadian dollar was up 0.21 to 97.38 cents U.S.
Among stocks to watch this morning, oil whiz Nexen Inc.said it has taken less time than expected to start producing at a section in its Long Lake project in Alberta, helped by the use of new technologies to ready wells.
Barrick Gold Corp appointed Ammar Al-Joundi as chief financial officer to fill in the position left vacant when Jamie Sokalsky became the chief executive of the world's biggest gold miner earlier this month. Al-Joundi will rejoin Barrick next month from Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd.
No major Canadian economic data is scheduled for release today.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 2.43 points to 1,173.22. The Nasdaq Canada index dumped 2.15 points to 350.94
In all, 10 of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative in the first hour. Gold slid 1.4%, health-care was off 0.8% and metals and mining stocks faded 0.6%.
The four gainers were led by industrials, up 0.3%, global base metals and consumer staples each grew 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks began Tuesday with mild gains ahead of a report on consumer confidence and after better-than-expected data on U.S. home prices, with Europe continuing to weigh on sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrials squeezed out a gain of 4.01 points to 12,506.67
The S&P 500 picked up 3.43 points to 1,317.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 13.94 points to 2,850.10
Investors also reacted to a research note sent out by Goldman Sachs on Tuesday morning in which the bank upgraded JP Morgan and downgraded Morgan Stanley. Goldman wrote that its sees "better risk-reward skew and more near-term earnings and return visibility for JPM."
Shares of Coinstar, owner of the Redbox movie rental self-service kiosks, fell after the company said its earnings would be hurt by its $100-million U.S. acquisition of kiosk operator NCR Corp.
For-profit education company Apollo Group, which operates the University of Phoenix, released its third-quarter results after Monday's close. While net revenue declined due to lower enrollment, results still beat analysts' expectations.
Investors remained wary ahead of a gathering of European leaders later in the week, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel playing down large moves such as the issuance of common debt until euro-area countries agree to broad oversight of their budgets.
Greece on Tuesday named an economics professor to replace the finance minister who resigned Monday after less than a week on the job.
Economically speaking, the S&P/Case-Shiller index for April home prices showed improvement, with the annual decline easing to 1.9%. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected prices to have dropped 2.5% from the same time last year.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for June was due out at 10 a.m. ET. It's expected to decline slightly to 64 in June from 64.9 in May.
The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost strength, pushing the yield up to 1.65% from 1.61% late Monday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil for August delivery took on 28 cents to $79.49 U.S. a barrel.
Gold futures for August delivery fell $11.10 to $1,577.30 U.S. an ounce.
