Equities in Toronto opened slightly lower, despite a recent drop in prices, while concerns that the Cyprus rescue deal could be used as a template to restructure other euro-zone banking problems could put a lid on gains.
The S&P/TSX index was down 13.10 points to begin Tuesday’s session at 12,667.61
The Canadian dollar improved 0.35 cents to 98.24 cents U.S.
In company news, Aurizon Mines Ltd. said on Monday that it had suspended underground operations at its Casa Berardi gold mine in Quebec after a contractor was killed in a vehicle accident in the mine. Aurizon shares notched up 1.5 cents to $4.445
Oil giant Suncor Energy Inc is expected to shelve plans for a multi-billion-dollar oil sands processing plant in northern Alberta when it announces the fate of the facility in the coming days, blaming a forecast for weakening returns. Suncor shares took on six cents to $30.79.
No economic data was due for release Tuesday in Canada.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange faded 3.87 points out of the starting blocks to 1,099.48
Even so, eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were positive to begin the day, led by telecoms, ahead 0.4%, consumer discretionary stocks, up 0.3%, and information technology, gaining 0.2%.
The half-dozen laggards were weighed most by gold, down 0.8%, materials, sagging 0.6%, and global base metals by 0.1%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday, as investors monitored the turmoil in Cyprus with a new sense of calm while welcoming better-than-expected U.S. economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 85.06 points to begin Tuesday at 14,532.80
The S&P 500 index gathered 7.67 points to 1,559.36. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite gained 12.63 points to 3,247.93.
Shares of Citigroup, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase nudged higher in early trading Tuesday.
Children's Place reported that sales and profit jumped in 2012. But the company also issued a weak forecast for the first quarter of 2013, citing "the unfavorable weather and weak macro-economic environment." The stock dropped almost 2% in early trading.
In other corporate news, Boeing completed the first test flight for its troubled 787 Dreamliner since redesigning the aircraft's battery system.
On the U.S. economic front, The S&P Case-Shiller index showed that home prices rose 8.1% in January from a year ago, marking the biggest year-over-year gain in prices since June 2006.
The U. S. Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders rose 5.7% in February, more than expected. But excluding transportation, new orders decreased 0.5%, a bigger drop than expected.
Reports on consumer confidence and new home sales were up at 10 a.m. ET.
Cyprus' banks will remain closed until Thursday to give regulators time to guard against a run on deposits. Some form of capital controls will be applied when the banks eventually reopen.
The island nation agreed early Monday to raise billions of euros from big depositors at the Bank of Cyprus and Popular Bank of Cyprus, and shrink its banking sector, in return for a €10-billion European Union bailout.
Prices on the 10-year U.S. Treasury lost ground, raising yields to 1.94% from Monday’s 1.91%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained $1.01 to $95.58 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices fell $8.40 to $1,595.50 U.S. an ounce.
