North American markets may open flat Wednesday, as oil prices hover near record highs at US$51 a barrel.

Investors now are looking ahead to Friday’s release of September employment data in Canada and the United States, which will give another indication of the economy’s strength.

The Canadian dollar opened at US79.13¢, down 0.14 of a cent from Tuesday’s close, when higher crude prices boosted the loonie to an 11-year high of US79.27¢.

In other economic news, Statistics Canada said construction intentions cooled off in August as the value of building permits retreated from exceptional levels in June and July.

The total value of permits fell 4.6% to $4.5 billion as both residential and non-residential sectors posted declines, StatsCan said today.

Asian stocks finished mixed overnight. Japan’s Nikkei jumped 103.55 points or 0.92% to 11,385.38. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng dipped 59.53 points or 0.45% to 13,271.57.

After markets closed Tuesday, -Stelco Inc. said it plans to sell three additional assets, including its AltaSteel subsidiary near Edmonton, in an attempt to raise more capital as the steelmaker restructures.

Toronto stocks ended lower Tuesday weighed down by concerns over new highs for oil prices and their impact on the economy. At the close, the S&P/TSX composite index was down 15.86 points, or 0.18%, at 8,797.05 on volume of 259.6 million shares.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index rose 16.51 points or 1.01% to 1,658.91.

On Wall Street, stocks lost ground on concern over the economic impact of high oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 38.86 points or 0.38% to close at 10,177.68.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gained 3.10 or 0.16% to 1,955.50. The S&P 500 slipped 0.69 of a point to 1,134.48.

Adding to investors’ worries was a disappointing report from the Institute for Supply Management, which said its service sector index fell to 56.7 in September from 58.2 in August. The reading was lower than the 59 expected by Wall Street. A figure over 50 represents expansion in the service sector, but the latest number represented a slowdown in growth.