North American stocks are likely to open lower Wednesday as oil hover at record high prices and investors react to news that ews that Google had slashed the price for its much-anticipated initial public offering.

Google Inc. said today it now expects its stock to trade between US$85 and US$95 per share, down from its earlier forecast of between US$108 and US$135.

Crude-oil prices jumped to a new high of US$47.13 a barrel Wedneday amid lingering concerns about supply from Iraq and Russia

Closer to home , Statistics Canada said that foreign investors continued to increase their holdings of Canadian securities, acquiring $815 million in June. Meanwhile, for the first time since January, Canadian investors sold off some of their holdings of foreign securities.

Meanwhile, RBC Economics said housing affordability has declined in Canada to its lowest level in two years amid higher prices and increased construction. In a new report released today, the bank suggests that a significant drop in sales is likely later this year.

Asian markets closed mixed overnight.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei gained 48.29 points, or 0.45%, closing at 10,774.26.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index dipped 27.58 points, or 0.23% to 12,228.54.

North American markets were mixed on Tuesday, with Bay Street posting modest losses while Wall Street managed to hold on to early gains.

At close, Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index was down 9.31 points, or 0.11%, at 8,232.18 on volume of 206 million shares. The TSX Venture Exchange was also down, off 1.5 points, or 0.1%, to 1,479.46.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 18.28 points, or 0.18%, to 9,972.83. The S&P 500 index was up 2.37, or 0.22%, at 1,081.71 and the Nasdaq composite index gained 12.49 points, or 0.7%, to 1,795.25.