North American stocks are expected to open mixed Wednesday as oil prices fall below US$64 a barrel.

Crude-oil prices slipped 17¢ to $63.20 a barrel in early trading Wednesday ahead of weekly oil inventory data. Traders expect the midweek U.S. Energy Information Administration petroleum supply snapshot to show gains in stockpiles of crude and products.

In business news, Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc. said it will buy back about 1.78 million shares used to close its $214 million takeover deal with Clarington Corp.

In earnings news, DuPont slashed its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter to reflect higher-than-expected disruptions in operations, partly due to the impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

BP PLC said Wednesday its oil production for the fourth quarter of 2005 will be slightly lower than the same period last year due to hurricanes in the United States. BP also disclosed more than US$1.3 billion of charges on its refining and distribution businesses.

The Canadian dollar opened at US85.79¢, down 0.08 of a cent.

Overseas, European markets bounced back after losses on Tuesday, and Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also advanced.

On Tuesday, Toronto stocks moved higher, as a spike in the energy and financials sectors largely offset a decline in the information technology group.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 32.40, or 0.28%, to 11,597.61.

The financials group moved ahead 0.40%.

CI Financial Inc. reported an 82% increase in quarterly profit to $75.7 million over the same period last year.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index finished up 0.16, or 0.01%, to 2,312.64.

After a blistering start to 2006, New York markets ended flat due to mixed corporate earnings news.

The Dow Jones industrial index slipped a mere 0.32 of a point to end virtually unchanged at 11,011.58. The Nasdaq composite index inched ahead 1.63 points to 2,320.32, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.46 point to 1,289.69.