Source: The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market headed for a lower open on Wednesday following two positive sessions that left the TSX at its highest level since July 2008.

But investor attention will be focused on the operator of the exchange, TMX Group (TSX:X), which announced Wednesday it is merging with the London Stock Exchange. The deal would create the world’s biggest exchange operator for resource stocks, which have been the key drivers of growth for both exchanges.

The merger, if approved, would give the new firm a value of just over C$6 billion and give LSE shareholders just over 50% of the combined company.

TMX Group is valued at C$2.99 billion, while the London Stock Exchange Group’s value is slightly higher, around C$3.25 billion.

The Canadian dollar was little changed against the U.S. currency, off 0.01 of a cent to 100.53 cents US.

U.S. futures pointed to a weak open following a string of gains with investors feeling bullish about recent strong economic data and corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial futures declined 23 points to 12,173 after the blue chip index advanced for the past seven sessions.

The Nasdaq futures were down 7.5 points to 2,355 and the S&P 500 futures slipped 4.5 points to 1,317.

Oil prices rose above US$87 a barrel after a report showed U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly fell last week, suggesting demand may be improving.

The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 42 cents to US$87.36 a barrel.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 558,000 barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had forecast an increase of 2.4 million barrels.

The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Wednesday.

Crude has fallen sharply since jumping above US$92 to a 26-month high last week over concerns that protests in Egypt could disrupt Middle East crude supplies.

Copper prices headed lower with the March contract in New York off two cents to US$4.55 a pound.

Bullion prices were higher with the April gold contract on the Nymex ahead $1.70 to US$1,365.80 after running ahead almost US$16 on Tuesday.

In Asia, the benchmark Shanghai Composite dropped 0.9% and the Shenzhen Composite Index for China’s smaller, second market was off one per cent after China’s central bank announced the second interest rate increase in a little over a month.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4% as property stocks took a pounding.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 0.2% while Australia’s S&P/ASX added 0.3%.

London’s FTSE index was off 0.28%, Frankfurt’s DAX was off 0.04% while the Paris CAC 40 inched up 0.04%.

Investors are also taking in earnings reports from some of the biggest Canadian corporations this week.

On Tuesday after the market close, Teck Resources Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) reported a drop in its fourth-quarter profit compared with a year ago, hit by a big charge related to the refinancing of its debt. The mining company earned $361 million, or 61 cents per diluted share, for the quarter, compared with a profit of $411 million, or 70 cents, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $2.81 billion, up from $2.17 billion.

Agriculture company Agrium Inc. (TSX:AGU) said Wednesday it rose to a record fourth-quarter profit on the back of strong fertilizer prices. The Calgary-based company handed in reported earnings of US$158 million, or $1 per share, compared to profits of $30 million, or 19 cents per share, a year ago.

WestJet Airlines Ltd. (TSX:WJA) reported its profits climbed 138% in the fourth quarter to $47.9 million or 33 cents a share as it raced past analyst expectations. Revenue increased to $692.8 million, from $570 million, helped by stronger passenger volumes.

Meanwhile, Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) has sold its 10.1% equity interest in Osisko Mining Corp., representing approximately 38.6 million common shares. The shares were sold at $13.75 per share and Vancouver-based Goldcorp says it expects to receive about $530 million in cash.