At the open: TSX higher after 2 days of losses

The Toronto stock market was higher after two days of losses but weighed down by mining stocks amid disappointing trade data from China.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 66.59 points, or 0.47 per cent, to 14,331.60.

The Canadian dollar was higher after falling oil sent the loonie down almost three-quarters of a U.S. cent on Monday. The currency rose 0.14 of a cent early Tuesday to 83.7 cents (U.S.).

New York indexes also clawed back losses from the last two sessions with the Dow Jones industrials ahead 256.11 points to 17,896.95, the Nasdaq ran ahead 66.49 points to 4,731.2 and the S&P 500 index was up 24.68 points to 2,052.94.

Oil prices continued to tumble a day after investment bank Goldman Sachs forecast reduced forecasts for global benchmark crude prices. It forecast that West Texas Intermediate — the North American benchmark —will trade at $41 (U.S.) a barrel in three months. It had previously forecast WTI at $70.

The February crude contract in New York fell 66 cents to $45.41 a barrel, its lowest level in almost six years while the energy sector was flat.

A huge glut of oil has sent prices tumbling almost 60 per cent from recent highs registered in June 2014. Analysts anticipate it will take months to work out the huge supply/demand imbalance, which has been worsened by Saudi Arabia's refusal to cut production.

The latest plunge in oil prices comes as the United Arab Emirates' oil minister Suhail Mohamed Faraj al-Mazrouei, said Tuesday that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will stick to its decision to keep oil output unchanged regardless of current oil prices.

The base metals sector was the biggest decliner, down 3.6 per cent while March copper fell seven cents to $2.66 amid mixed economic news from China. Exports from the world's second-largest economy rebounded in December but imports shrank in a sign of weak domestic demand. Total trade in 2014 grew just 3.4 per cent, well below the official 10 per cent target.

Chinese demand for imported oil, iron ore, food and other goods has cooled as economic growth slowed, falling to a five-year low of 7.3 per cent in the quarter ending in September.

The gold sector was down 0.45 per cent as investors seeking safety sent bullion prices higher for a third day. The February contract gained $6.40 to $1,239.20 an ounce.

Goldcorp Inc. was down 34 cents to $25.38 (Canadian) as the miner warned that it may be required to write down the value of its Cerro Negro in Argentina by up to $2.7-billion (U.S.). It says the mine faces a number of challenges that are affecting its long-term value, including foreign-exchange restrictions and inflation in the country.

Goldcorp also said Monday that it is selling its Wharf mine in Lead, S.D., to Coeur Mining Inc. for $105-million in cash.

Other stocks to watch include aluminum giant Alcoa, which posted quarterly net earnings of $159-million, or 11 cents a share, from a loss of $2.3-billion, or $2.19 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Ex-items, adjusted earnings per share were 33 cents, five cents ahead of estimates. Revenue rose 14 per cent to $6.4-billion, beating analyst forecasts of $6.04-billion and its stock was ahead nine cents to $16.26.

Corus Entertainment Inc. had $51.9-million (Canadian) of net income and adjusted earnings, or 60 cents per share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30. That compared with $55.2-million of adjusted earnings (65 cents per share) and $150.9-million ($1.78 per share) of net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2014, which included several unusual items. Corus is also hiking its annual dividend by five cents, to $1.14 per class B share and $1.135 per class A share and its shares rose $1.03 to $22.05.