North American stocks are poised to slip Tuesday, ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement on interest rates.

The Fed decision is due at 14:15 ET. It is widely expected that the Fed will keep its key interest rate unchanged at 5.25% but investors will be anxious to read its accompanying statement for the central bank’s take on the economy.

In this morning’s economic news, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in October to US$58.87 billion, reaching its lowest level in nearly five years as oil prices kept falling and exports managed a modest gain

Here at home, Statistics Canada said total export values fell 1.7% in October, as energy export values slumped for the second month. As a result of the drop in energy prices, coupled with weaker automotive and forestry exports, exports to the United States reached their lowest level in nearly two years ($28.5 billion) and the surplus with the United States fell to its lowest level in three years ($6.8 billion). Imports were up 0.4%.

The Canadian dollar opened at US86.89¢, down 0.21 of a cent.

In this morning’s market news, BCE Inc. said it is cancelling its plan for an income trust conversion, as expected, and will change its name to Bell Canada Inc. The company also announced it will also boost its annual dividend by 11%.

In earnings news, after markets closed Monday Texas Instruments Inc. cut its profit and revenue forecast for the fourth quarter due to slower sales of semiconductors.

In today’s earnings news, Best Buy posted a lower-than-expected 8.7% rise in net income as cutthroat pricing on items such as TVs put pressure on profit margins.

Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs reported a quarterly profit of US$3.15 billion, or $6.59 a share, on revenue of US$9.41 billion.

Oil prices held above US$61 a barrel Tuesday as the market awaited OPEC’s decision this week on whether to make further production cuts to shore up prices. Light sweet crude for January delivery rose 17¢ to US$61.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe.

Key European indexes were mixed in early action.

In Asia, Hong Kong shares dropped on jitters ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 17.33 points, or 0.1%, to 18,907.33.

But Tokyo’s market posted modest gains. The benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to 16,637.78.

Toronto stocks fell slightly Monday for a second straight session.

The S&P/TSX composite index lost 21.4 points to 12,878.18.

The telecom sector was the session’s biggest decliner, down 0.65% ahead of an announcement after the market close that the federal government has new plans for deregulating local phone services. Telus Corp. closed down 99¢ to $55.10.

Shares in Power Financial Corp. were off 4¢ at $38.16 after the Globe and Mail said the firm is closing in on a US$3.5-billion-plus purchase of Boston-based Putnam Investments. Power controls IGM Financial Inc., parent of Investors Group and Mackenzie Financial.

The TSX Venture Exchange lost 14.65 points to 2,805.52.

In New York markets finished slightly higher as oil prices retreated.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 20.99 points to 12,328.48. The Nasdaq composite index moved up 5.5 points 2,442.86 while the S&P 500 index added 3.2 points to 1,413.04.