The Toronto stock market looked set for a lower open Tuesday as commodity prices started to recover from sharp price drops.
The Canadian dollar declined 0.12 of a cent to 89.96 cents US.
U.S. futures were lower as investors looked for direction amid a dearth of market-moving corporate or economic news with the Dow Jones industrial futures down four points to 16,409, the Nasdaq futures inched up 0.5 of a point to 3,708 while the S&P 500 futures slipped 1.25 points to 1,876.
Toronto and New York markets were pressured Monday amid the latest concerns about Chinese growth as data showed that exports of the world’s second biggest economy fell by an unexpectedly large 18 per cent in February. The country’s official 2014 economic growth target of 7.5 per cent assumes trade also will grow by 7.5 per cent.
Copper prices and TSX base metal stocks in particular headed lower as a result of the data with the metal widely viewed as a proxy for the global economy closing at a multi-year low. On Tuesday, the May copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained one cent to US$3.04 a pound after shedding six per cent over the last two sessions.
Oil prices also suffered from the Chinese data and on Tuesday, the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down a further 10 cents to US$101.02 a barrel.
April bullion gained $8.90 to US$1,350.40 an ounce.
On the corporate front, Osisko Mining Corp. (TSX:OSK) is urging shareholders to sit on the sideline while its board continues the search for an alternative to an ongoing hostile takeover attempt by Goldcorp Inc. Goldcorp (TSX:G) has extended its hostile deadline for accepting the offer until March 21. But Osisko noted Tuesday that its adversary is prevented from buying more shares until April 15.
Canadian exporters are also watched developments in Vancouver where strike by container-truck drivers serving Port of Metro Vancouver terminals is growing. Members of Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers’ Association parked their rigs Monday, joining members of the non-union United Truckers Association who have been on strike since last month. The groups reached a tentative deal with employers last week, but the members voted against the agreement over the weekend.
European markets were mixed as Germany’s trade surplus narrowed in January, to 17.2 billion euros from 18.3 billion in December as an increase in exports from Europe’s largest economy was more than offset by a rise in imports.
London’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.19 per cent, Frankfurt’s DAX rose 0.25 per cent while the Paris CAC 40 was down 0.38 per cent.
Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average added 0.7 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose less than 0.1 per cent and China’s Shanghai Composite inched up 0.1 per cent.