TSX opens lower

CANADA STOCKS-TSX may open lower as commodity prices dip

08:49 EDT Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Toronto's resource-heavy main stock index looked set to open lower on Tuesday as a rebound in the U.S. dollar against a basket of currencies helped to send many commodity prices lower.

FACTORS TO WATCH

* Canadian equity futures > pointed to a lower open.

* U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open before Federal Reserve minutes that should give clues on the timing and size of more stimulus. [.N]

* Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on Tuesday will release a fall fiscal update that will show the government is still on track to balance the budget in the medium term, a government official said. [ID:nN11128512]

* European shares fell, tracking a decline in Tokyo, and with miners lower as the price of copper and other metals slipped, after a strong run. [.EU]

* Asian markets were also lower with indices consolidating after recent gains, while Shanghai bucked the trend to close up 1.2 percent, it's highest in five month.

COMMODITY PRICE MOVES

* The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index <.CRB>, a global commodities benchmark, fell 0.2 percent in early trade.

* Oil prices slipped for a second day, falling towards $81 a barrel after Saudi Arabia signaled OPEC would maintain current production levels at the group's meeting and as the dollar rallied against the euro. [O/R]

* Gold eased in Europe on Tuesday as the dollar rebounded on the back of uncertainty over the extent of quantitative easing expected from U.S. authorities, denting interest in the metal as a haven from weak currencies. [GOL/]

* Copper fell with other base metals also under pressure, as a recovering dollar capped recent bullish momentum ahead of fresh insight into the U.S. central bank's thinking on further monetary easing. [MET/L]

CANADIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

* Research In Motion : The maker of the BlackBerry smartphone had been given a new deadline of Jan. 31 by the Indian government for a final solution to get access to all its services, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. [ID:nBMA008590]

* CIC Energy Corp. : Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Group, which runs JSW Steel, has emerged as the front-runner in the race for a controlling stake in the resources firm CIC Energy, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday. The deal could be valued at $450 million to $500 million, the newspaper said. [ID:nSGE69B04X]

* Potash Corp. : China's Sinochem has approached Indian state-run miner NMDC Ltd for a joint bid to buy Potash, the Economic Times reported on Monday. NMDC Chairman Rana Som, however, denied the company was planning a joint bid with Sinochem for Potash, the paper said. [ID:nSGE69A035]

- Meanwhile Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is plotting a bid to spoil BHP Billiton's $39 billion hostile offer for Potash, British newspaper The Sunday Times said on Sunday. [ID:nSGE69903N]

* Talisman : Norwegian oil firm Statoil is expanding further its shale gas operations in the United States, saying on Sunday it had created a joint venture with Talisman to acquire acreage on the Eagle Ford prospect in Texas for $1.325 billion. [ID:nLDE6990C3]

* Centerra Gold : The gold miner said on Monday that workers at its flagship gold mine in Kyrgyzstan ended their 10-day long strike on Sunday evening, and the company reaffirmed its production outlook for the operation. [ID:nSGE69A168]

* Enbridge Inc. : The pipeline company's crude oil pipeline 6A would run at 80 percent of its 670,000 bpd capacity while maintenance on parts of the line is under way, said a company spokesman. The key crude line transporting Canadian oil to refineries in the U.S. Midwest was shut down on Friday as the company put a sleeve around a section of pipeline. [ID:nN11108666]

* Teck Resources Ltd : The diversified miner said on Monday its copper mine output would rise to more than 400,000 tonnes in 2012 and could more than double in five to six years based on its new projects. [ID:nLDE69A1XZ]

- Separately the company said on Friday it was trying to determine how much mercury has spilled from its Trail, British Columbia, lead smelter into the Columbia River near the border of Washington state. [ID:nN08271872]

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS

Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters. [RCH/CA]

* Asia Bio Chem Group coverage started with outperform rating and C$1.75 target price at Raymond James

* Bird Construction Income Fund rating cut to outperform from strong buy at Raymond James

($1=$1.01 Canadian) (Reporting by Bangalore Newsroom; editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)