(RTTNews) - Canadian stocks may struggle to fight back from big losses in the previous session Wednesday morning as the steam appears to have run out of the bustling commodity trade due to signs the US dollar is poised for a comeback.

Bay Street took its cues from slumping markets around the world. With banking stocks hitting the skids, the S&P/TSX Composite Index dropped 181.34 points or 1.61% to close at 11,053.54. The market finished at its lowest level since October 2.

Early signals are pointing to another difficult session. The price of oil is down a bit near $79 a barrel, suggesting that energy stocks may turn in lackluster performance.

In earnings news, oil company Nexen (NXY.TO) said third-quarter profit plummeted on lower crude prices. Net income dropped to C$122 million, or 23 cents a share, from C$886 million, or C$1.66, a year earlier.

Canam Group Inc.’s (CAM.TO) third-quarter net earnings plummeted to C$4.43 million or C$0.10 per share from a restated C$15.02 million or C$0.30 per share in the prior year period.

OPTI Canada Inc. (OPC.TO) said its third-quarter net earnings was C$12 million or C$0.04 per share compared with a loss of C$32 million or C$0.16 per share in the prior year period.

Open Text Corp. (OTEX, OTC.TO) reported first-quarter net income of US$1.7 million or US$0.03 per share, compared to US$14.7 million or US$0.28 per share in the same quarter last year.

Kinross Gold (K.TO) will look to snap back after losing 6.8 percent yesterday when the company lowered its 2009 production expectations to 2.2 million gold ounces.

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Posted in Categories: Canada, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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