Stock futures pointed to a higher opening for Canada's main stock index ahead of an emergency euro-zone summit on Greece at which the country will attempt to secure an aid package to keep itself in the currency club.
The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 88.82 points to conclude Monday at 14,593.57
The Canadian dollar slipped 0.54 cents to 78.50 cents U.S. Tuesday
Denison Mines Corp on Monday agreed to buy competitor Fission Uranium Corp for around $483 million, creating a diversified Canadian uranium company with projects centered on the Northern Saskatchewan region.
The combined company, to be named Denison Energy Corp, will have a market value of around $900 million and be equally owned by Denison's and Fission's shareholders, the two companies said in a statement.
CIBC cut the target price on Orezone Gold to 70 cents from 80 cents as there have also been indications that the Burkina Faso government may adopt changes to the current mining code in the near future and the company suggests this may be subsequently offset by a rollback in VAT, but that potential benefit has yet to materialize.
Le Groupe Jean Coutu PJC Inc is out with earnings today. The drug store chain is expecting Q1 earnings of 30 cents per share.
On the economic beat, Statistics Canada reported this morning that our country’s exports declined 0.6% in May while imports edged up 0.2%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade deficit with the world widened from $3.0 billion in April to $3.3 billion in May.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange moved downward 7.25 points to finish Monday at 663.33.
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ON WALLSTREET
U.S. stock futures are edging up despite the suspense the Greek debt controversy continues to provide.
Ahead of the opening bell, futures for the Dow Jones Industrials improved 13 points, or 0.1%, to 17,640, futures for the S&P 500 took on 2.5 points, or 0.1%, to 2,067, and futures for the NASDAQ slid 1.75 points to 4,421.
The Container Store will report its latest quarterly results after the markets close.
European finance ministers and heads of state are meeting Tuesday to discuss how to help Greece out of its economic hole. Greece is asking its European creditors for further bailout money, but leaders are reluctant to give in to the nation's demands since they doubt the country's ability to repay any new debts.
Greece defaulted on a debt payment last week to the International Monetary Fund.
The nation has already received two huge international bailout packages since 2010 with a value of roughly 240 billion euros ($264 billion U.S.).
European markets are mixed in early trading as investors wait for the talks to begin.
Key Chinese stock markets took another tumble Tuesday, with the Shanghai Composite dipping by 1.3% and the Shenzhen index down by 5.3%.
The Shanghai Composite has fallen roughly 30% from its recent high in mid-June, and the Shenzhen Composite has plunged by nearly 40% from its peak.
Oil prices settled 42 cents to $52.11 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices slumped $8.70 at $1,164.50 U.S. an ounce.
