Toronto's main stock index looked set to open lower on Wednesday, hurt by weaker commodity prices as doubts about Italy's ability to tackle its debt problems persisted even after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi pledged to resign.
Among Canadian stocks to watch in the early going, Enbridge Inc., which said its third-quarter profit fell on derivative losses. It earned $4 million, or one cent a share, down from $157 million, or 21 cents a share, a year ago.
Suncor Energy Inc. forecast a 12% rise in its oil sands production in 2012 and expects to spend about $3.6 billion toward growth projects in the coming year.
Silver Wheaton Corp. reported a 96% jump in third-quarter profit, driven by strong silver prices, and the company tripled its dividend for the current quarter.
The Canadian dollar declined to 98.02 U.S. cents.
Statistics Canada said its New Housing Price Index crept up 0.2% in September, following a 0.1% advance in August.
U.S. stock futures pointed toward a slide at the open, with Dow futures down 225 points and S&P 500 futures down 29.60 before trading began.
Investors were ignoring moderate inflation data out of China, showing inflation at a five-month low, and focusing instead on ripples spreading from Italy's debt crisis.
Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.8%, France's CAC 40 lost 2.3% and Germany's DAX slipped 2.5%. Banks were among the worst-hit stocks.
Italian bond yields soared past 7%, a level many economists consider unsustainable in the long term, raising the possibility that Italy may be the next European nation to need a rescue.
The yield on 10-year bonds surged to a high of 7.42%, up 0.82 of a percentage point from Tuesday. Greece, Ireland and Portugal had to ask for rescue loans once it became clear that their borrowing rates were stuck above the 7% threshold.
U.S. Treasury yields fell to 1.98%, reflecting a flight of capital to havens.
The euro slid 1.5% to $1.3627 U.S. Copper fell 1.5% to $3.48 a pound. Gold dipped $9.20 to $1,790 an ounce. U.S. crude oil fell $1.15 to $95.65 U.S. a barrel.
