Bay Street Seen Opening On Mixed Note

(RTTNews) - Canadian shares look headed for a mixed start on Tuesday, with investors tracking the trend in European and commodity markets, and looking ahead to Canadian inflation data, due on Wednesday.

In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for August are down $2.50 or 2.45% at $100.10 a barrel.

Gold futures are up $4.00 or 0.23% at $1,714.20 an ounce, while Silver futures are lower by $0.055 or 0.29% at $18.785 an ounce.

Despite coming off the day's high in late afternoon trades, the Canadian market finished on a strong note on Monday, led by strong gains in energy, healthcare, technology and materials sectors.

Sharply higher crude oil prices triggered hectic buying in the energy sectors. Materials shares climbed as bullion prices moved higher. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index ended with a gain of 201.17 points or 1.09% at 18,595.62.

Asian stocks ended lower on Tuesday as investors fretted about the earnings outlook in the face of economic and financial challenges.

A rebound in commodity prices on the back of a weaker dollar and IBM's reduced cash flow forecast served to keep underlying sentiment cautious.

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance after coming off early lows with investors largely making cautious moves, digesting reports of a spending slowdown at tech giant Apple and a mixed earnings update from IBM.

While stronger-than-expected U.K. jobs data heightened fears of more interest-rate hikes, Eurostat data showed that the region's inflation accelerated as estimated in June to set a fresh record high, driven by higher energy and food prices.