Investors were facing mostly positive signals before the open of North American markets Tuesday. The Bank of Canada said it is keeping its target for the overnight rate at 2.5%, oil prices continued to drop, but Colgate-Palmolive said it will cut 12% of its work force.

The cuts are part of a four-year restructuring plan that will cost between US$550 million and US$650 million

In other economic news, worker productivity grew at a 1.8% annual rate in the U.S. during the third quarter, the slowest pace in nearly two years. The U.S. Labour Department saidoutput growth remained steady, worker hours jumped and labor costs increased.

On Monday, oil prices reversed, sending U.S. markets into the red, but helping Canadian markets finish in the black.

At close, the S&P/TSX composite index was up 5.04 points or 0.06% at 9,060.70. The TSX Venture composite index fell 7.21 or 0.42% to 1,725.23.

Among the most active TSX stocks, Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. add 10.11% after it announced it had agreed to a merger with Goldcorp Inc. valued at $2.4 billion. More than 45.5 million Wheaton River shares traded hands. Goldcorp stock added 0.06% with more than six million shares being traded.

The Dow industrials lost 45.15 points or 0.43% at 10,547.06. The Nasdaq composite index edged up 3.29 points or 0.15% to 2,151.25; the S&P 500 was off 0.92 of a point or 0.08% at 1,190.25.

The rise in oil futures — a barrel of light crude was quoted at US$42.98, up 44¢, on the New York Mercantile Exchange — was prompted by a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia and protests in Nigeria that raised concerns about the safety of the world’s oil supply. The gains reversed a four-day downward trend that allowed Wall Street to look past a disappointing job creation report on Friday.