Canada's main stock index opened slightly lower on Tuesday after ending its lowest in more than two weeks in the previous session
The S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 1.64 points to begin Tuesday at 12,608.16
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.43 cents to 96.85 cents U.S.
Rio Alto Mining Ltd said it has temporarily suspended some operations at its La Arena gold mine in Peru after a blockade of the main road to the site as part of a protest against the country's police and judicial system. Rio shares faltered 13 cents to $2.92.
Canaccord Genuity raised the price target on Autocanada Inc to $31.50 from $29 on the completion of a bought deal and secondary share offering and on the announcement of the acquisition of Courtesy Chrysler. Autocanada shares fell 19 cents to $28.01
CIBC cut the target price on Platinum Group Metals to $1.85 from $1.90 citing production cuts and weak currency. Platinum Group shares were unchanged at $1.05 in the early going.
Speaking of things economic, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our merchandise imports rose 1.2% in April, while exports edged down 0.2%. As a result, Canada's trade deficit with the world went from $3 million in March to $567 million in April.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 3.31 points to at 965.75
Eight of the 14 Toronto subgroups were lower, with gold sinking 2.5%, materials down 1%, and telecoms falling 0.6%.
The half-dozen gainers were led by information technology, up 0.6%, energy, down 0.4%, and health-care, sliding 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The major American stock indices were all slightly higher in early trading.
The Dow Jones Industrials picked up 21.13 points to 15,275.20
The S&P 500 index gained 3.65 points to 1,644.07. The tech-rich NASDAQ Composite clicked 7.16 points to 3,472.53.
If the Dow manages even a small gain, this will be the 21st Tuesday in a row it will have ended in positive territory.
After a downbeat Friday, U.S. stocks resumed their recent rally Monday. So far this year, all three major indexes are up roughly 16%.
Salesforce.com shares fell after the company signed a deal to acquire cloud marketing platform ExactTarget for $2.5 billion U.S. Shares of ExactTarget surged 50%.
General Motors shares rose about 3% following news that the automaker will rejoin the S&P 500, replacing H.J. Heinz at the end of trading Thursday.
Zynga shares flipped between small gains and losses, following a 12% plunge on Monday, after the online game maker said it would cut more than 500 jobs, or nearly 20% of its staff.
Dollar General reported earnings and sales in line with forecasts but lowered its guidance. The news weighed on shares of other discount retailers, includingFamily Dollar and Dollar Tree
In economic news, the U.S. government's trade deficit rose to $40.3 billion in April from $37.1 billion U.S. in March, as imports outpaced exports.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 2.15% from Monday’s 2.13%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices lost 40 cents to $93.07 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices sank $14 to $1,398.10 U.S. an ounce
