The Canadian Press

The Toronto stock market could find itself under pressure from falling commodity prices at the open as oil and metal prices backed off amid a higher U.S. dollar.

U.S. futures were weak ahead of housing data coming out later in the morning with the Dow Jones industrial futures ahead four points to 10,731, the Nasdaq futures added 0.75 of a point to 1,949.25 while the S&P 500 futures stepped back 1.2 points to 1,160.8.

The May crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange declined 71 cents to US$80.89 a barrel. Commodity prices have weakened in recent days as worries about Greece’s ability to pay down its huge debt have punished the euro and attracted traders to the relative safe haven status of the U.S. dollar.

The April bullion contract on the Nymex eased $4 to US$1,095.50 an ounce while May copper slipped a cent to US$3.37 a pound.

The Canadian dollar was down a fifth of a US cent to US97.95 cents.

Meanwhile, Canadian investors will focus on Rogers Inc. (TSX:RCI.B), Shaw Communications (TSX:SJR.B) and BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Canada’s struggling broadcasters can negotiate a fee for their signals with cable and satellite TV providers. However, the CRTC said it wants the Federal Court of Appeal to review the new system before it kicks in.

There was also major acquisition activity in the mining sector. Quadra Mining Ltd. (TSX:QUA) and FNX Mining Company Inc. (TSX:FNX) plan what they call a “merger of equals” in an all-stock deal that will create a large intermediate copper producer with major holdings in Ontario, the United States and Chile. The combined company, technically a purchase of FNX by Quadra, would be named Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. with equal representation from both companies at the board level and the chief executives of both companies holding key posts.

A U.S. report on sales of previously owned homes due out at 10 a.m. EDT will be the latest report investors turn to for clues about the battered U.S. housing market. Housing reports have been among the few exceptions to the trend of data showing consistent U.S. economic improvement.

The National Association of Realtors is expected to report that sales of existing homes fell one per cent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of five million units, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

North American stock markets registered modest advances Monday as investors continue to fret about whether Greece will end up getting a financial package from its partners in the eurozone or be forced to go to the International Monetary Fund instead.

Greece has around 20 billion euros (US$27.1 billion) of debt maturing over the next couple of months and wants to avoid paying high premiums to get support in the international bond markets.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average bucked the regional trend and fell 0.5 per cent while Hong Kong’s market added 0.3 per cent and South Korea’s index rose 0.6 per cent.

London’s FTSE 100 index and the Paris CAC 40 gained 0.42 per cent while Frankfurt’s DAX inched up 0.12 per cent.

In other corporate news, Genivar Income Fund (TSX:GNV.UN), a Montreal-headquartered engineering services provider, reported it had $135 million in gross revenue and net income of $8.2 million or 47 cents per unit in the fourth quarter — both up from a year before.