Wall Street futures suggested a flat opening Tuesday after U.S. credit-card giant Capital One Financial Corp. said it is closing its wholesale mortgage business and cutting 1,900 jobs.

In economic news, consumer prices rose 2.2% in July compared with July 2006, identical to the increases of the three previous months, Statistics Canada reported today.

In July, consumer prices in Alberta posted the largest slowdown since October 2003.

Separately, StatsCan said consumers took a shopping break in June following the largest monthly sales increase in almost a decade in May. Total retail sales fell 0.9% to an estimated $34.6 billion in June after advancing 2.6% in May.

The Canadian dollar opened at US94.29¢, down 0.58 of a cent.

In today’s earnings news, Staples reported an 11% profit rise in its fiscal second-quarter net income amid strength in its North American delivery and international businesses and gave a cautious forecast for the rest of the year. Earnings are expected later from Target.

Oil prices fell 36¢ to US$70.76 in pre-market trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.25% in early action, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.33% and France’s CAC-40 dropped 0.24%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 1.07%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.62%.

Toronto stocks closed higher Monday, as a surge in the materials index led the market forward, despite a negative showing in the energy and financials group.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 60.76, or 0.47%, to 13,110.34, after spending part of the session in negative session.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index moved up 3.76 points, or 0.15%, to 2,548.45.

In New York, markets ended mostly higher as investors continued to cautiously buy back into the market after last week’s losses.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 42.27 points, or 0.32%, to 13,121.35, the Nasdaq inched ahead 3.56, or 0.14%, to 2,508.59, the S&P500 dipped 0.39, or 0.0.3%, to 1,445.55.