Stocks look to open lower Wednesday following the release of more disappointing U.S. economic data, and the calling off of merger talks between mining giants Vale and Xstrata.

Brazil’s Vale said it is dropping its efforts to buy rival miner Xstrata, ending its attempt to create the world’s largest mining company. Vale owns Canada’s Inco, while Xstrata owns Falconbridge.

Meanwhile, Ford announced an agreement to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover luxury brands to India’s Tata Motors for about US$2.3 billion, as the U.S. auto maker moves to shed a major distraction to its restructuring.

In today’s U.S. economic news, orders for durable goods fell 1.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted $210.65 billion, the U.S. Commerce Department said today . Durables, which are manufactured goods designed to last at least three years, decreased 4.7% in January.

Wall Street expected an increase in durable goods orders during February, with economists forecasting a climb of 0.8%.

The durables data also showed a barometer of business equipment spending — orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft — decreased in February by 2.6%, after falling 1.8% in January. February shipments for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft fell by 2.1%, after decreasing 0.4% in January; the shipments are used in calculating gross domestic product, which is the barometer for economic activity in the U.S.

There are no major economic releases from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US98.63¢, up 0.33 cent.

In earnings news, Connors Bros. Income Fund reported a fourth-quarter net loss of US$71.1 million including $82.2 million in recall costs and writedowns related to a disastrous recall in its canned-meat business.

UTS Energy Corp. said it earned $137.4 million in 2007, boosted by the sale of oilsands leases.

Crude oil moved higher by $1.29 to US$102.51 per barrel after dipping under US$100 on Tuesday, and gold regained $12.10 to US$947.10 an ounce.

Overseas markets were mostly lower Wednesday.

Tokyo’s Nikkei slid 0.3% to 12,706.63.

The FTSE 100 index was off 0.4% near midday in London, while the German DAX declined 0.2% and the Paris CAC 40 slipped 0.1%.

Toronto stocks rallied for the third straight session Tuesday as resources issues continued to bounce back from the steep losses of last week.

The S&P/TSX composite index soared 302.50 points, or 2.32%, to close at 13,322.22.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 47.78 points, or 1.93%, to close at 2,529.53.

In New York, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite index ended higher as rebounding metal and oil prices lifted mining and energy shares, offsetting news of the biggest drop in consumer confidence in five years.

The S&P 500 edged up 3.11 points, or 0.23%, to 1,352.99, while the Nadsaq added 14.30 points, or 0.61%, to 2,341.05

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 16.04 points, or 0.13%, to 12,532.60.