TSX likely to open lower as commodity prices extend pull back

And both crude oil and gold moved lower, as questions about demand impacted prices. November crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange moved down $1.07 to US$91.82 a barrel.

The December bullion decreased $16.70 to US$1,761.30 an ounce. December copper was off six cents to US$3.73 a pound.

The shine has been wearing off what has been an optimistic month for stock markets, characterized by an enthusiastic climb that defined much of the first-half of September. Stock markets have been trading at levels not seen since late 2007, helped in particular by moves from central banks to provide stimulus.

The latest indicators, however, suggest the global economy is still slowing down and will take some time to recover.

With little major economic data on the calendar for next week, investors will likely return focus to Europe and whether Spain will tap a new European aid program. Also in focus will be the direction of the Chinese economy after data last week suggested further weakness.

Wall Street was poised to fall on the open — Dow futures were down 0.4% to 13,450 while the broader S&P 500 futures dropped 0.5% to 1,444.90. Asian markets closed lower.

In corporate developments, Canaccord Financial Inc. (TSX:CF) is closing 16 branches of its wealth management firms across the country and reducing the number of advisors at the remaining Canadian locations, which will be concentrated in major cities.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (TSX:VRX) says it has paid $62.5 million to acquire the U.S. rights to Visudyne, a treatment for a common form of age-related blindness.Under the deal with Vancouver-based QLT Inc. (TSX:QLT), which developed Visudyne, Valeant could pay up to an additional $20 million.

Hanfeng Evergreen Inc. (TSX:HF), a fertiliser company focused on China and other Pacific Rim countries, says it has taken a $10-million writedown to reflect the reduced value of its publicly traded stock. The company, which has its Canadian head office in Toronto, said the writedown and other charges resulted in a loss of $2.5 million or four cents per share in its fiscal fourth quarter.

Looking ahead, Europe’s debt crisis will remain a point of focus for investors. Spain is due to unveil a new series of cost-cutting measures and structural reforms that could pave the way for a demand for financial aid from its fellow eurozone countries.

Spanish stock and bond markets have been volatile in recent days as hopes that Madrid will apply for the aid alternated with concern that it was delaying the move.

On Friday, the country will also release a final estimate of the financing needs of its weakest banks. The figures will help the government determine how much of an existing C100 billion (US$130 billion) eurozone rescue loan — earmarked for the banks — it should use.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British companies fell 0.6% to 5,818.09 and France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.3% to 3,484.89. Germany’s DAX shed 0.7% to 7397.37.

Earlier, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.4% to close at 9,069.29 while Seoul’s Kospi index was roughly unchanged at 2,003.44. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.2% to 20,694.70 while Sydney’s ASX S&P 200 fell 0.5% to 4,385.50. Benchmarks in Singapore, Indonesia, New Zealand and India also fell.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to close at 2,033.19, reversing losses earlier in the day. However, the benchmark is still at its lowest point since January 2009.