Markets in Toronto were fairly flat soon after the open on Tuesday, the eve of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to Congress
The S&P/TSX Composite Index slid 13.01 points to kick off Tuesday at 12,515.34
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.03 cents to 95.87 cents U.S.
CIBC raised the target price on Loblaw Companies to $53 from $48, saying the company is just getting its core business under control before heading into a more competitive second half.
Loblaw, which announced a friendly merger with Shoppers Drug Mart on Monday, began Tuesday down 28 cents to $49.85.
RBC cut the rating on Mercer International to sector perform from outperform, saying it sees limited momentum in global pulp markets and few catalysts for the company's shares over the next 12 months. Mercer stock price was stuck at $6.76 in the first hour of trading.
RBC cut the rating on Tembec to sector perform from outperform on rising concerns with the company's increased debt. Tembec declined 15 cents early Tuesday to $2.51.
On the economic slate, Statistics Canada reported that manufacturing sales hiked 0.7% to $48.6 billion in May, that figure’s second gain in five months.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange perked 7.21 points to 903.94
Nine of the 14 Toronto subgroups were negative to begin the session, as industrials, utilities and energy stocks each slumped 0.5%.
The five gainers were led by gold, up 1.2%, global base metals, ahead 1%, and metals and mining, progressing 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stocks were little changed at the opening bell Tuesday as investors digest the latest corporate results and await testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke due later this week.
The Dow Jones Industrials dropped 6.36 points to 15,477.90 from Monday’s all-time record.
The S&P 500 index inched lower 0.16 points to 1,682.34. The NASDAQ Composite was off 1.46 points to 3,606.03
Investors are waiting for Bernanke's semi-annual testimony to Congress on monetary policy Wednesday. They will keep an eye on corporate earnings Tuesday as a number of big firms report quarterly results.
Coca-Cola shares slipped 2% after the company reported a drop in profit from a year earlier.
Goldman Sachs shares notched up 1.5% after the Wall Street firm said that its quarterly earnings doubled from a year earlier, with a boost from investment banking.
Johnson & Johnson shares were flat after the healthcare company announced a jump in quarterly sales but a decline in earnings.Yahoo will report its second-quarter results after the market close.
Cintas was down in after-hours trading after narrowly missing analyst expectations for its fourth quarter earnings.
In economic news, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.5% in June, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists had expected the government's key inflation measure to rise 0.3%.
Prices for the 10-year U.S. Treasury gained, lowering yields to 2.53% from Monday’s 2.56%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices added 25 cents to $106.57 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices jumped six dollars to $1,289.50 U.S. an ounce.
