North American stocks look likely to open mixed Tuesday as oil prices declined. Crude-oil futures were down 70¢ at US$64.77 a barrel in early trading.

There are no major economic announcements from Statistics Canada today.

The Canadian dollar opened at US85.62¢, down 0.24 of a cent.

South of the border, U.S. factory orders in August are expected to rise 1.2% in August after a 1.9% fall in July. The report is due out at 10:00 ET.

In earnings news, BP Group PLC said that damage and disruption caused by hurricanes in the United States would cost the energy company more than US$700 million in the third quarter.

In other corporate news, Sears Canada said late Monday it will cut 1,200 jobs across the country to improve productivity as the big retailer refocuses on its core department store business.

General Motors and Ford Motor were put on CreditWatch by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s after Monday’s close. S&P cited both auto makers’ dependence on sport-utility vehicles and trucks amid rising energy prices.



Overnight in Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 index rose 213.56 points, or 1.6%, to 13,738.84 points, its highest finish since May 29, 2001.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng Index fell 12.18 points, or 0.08%, to 15,382.21.

Toronto stocks finished higher Monday, despite a drop in the price of oil, as the market was paced by both the energy and financials sectors.

The S&P/TSX composite index finished up 69.36 points, or 0.63%, to 11,081.19.

Eight of the 10 TSX main sub-groups were up. The energy index gained 1.17% and the financials sector lifted 0.70%

The junior S&P/TSX venture exchange finished up 15.82 points, or 0.73%, to 2,174.92.

In New York, strong manufacturing numbers fanned inflation worries, putting investors in a bearish mood.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 33.22 points to 10,535.48, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 3.74 points to 2,155.43, while the broader S&P 500 dropped 2 points to 1,226.70.