TORONTO - The Toronto stock market appeared set to open lower Tuesday as lower commodity prices offset a couple of upbeat earnings reports from big Canadian companies. The price of oil, an important driver of the commodity heavy TSX, dropped for the second day in a row on as the U.S. dollar strengthened and oil inventories remained high in the United States, suggesting consumption hasn't caught up with a growing economy. The June crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost 76 cents to US$83.44. The June bullion contract also dropped, losing $3.70 to US$1,150.30, while the May copper contract fell 6.55 cents to US$3.46. The Canadian dollar fell 0.26 cent to 99.60 cents US as the American greenback strengthened against other currencies. Other factors that are expected to pressure the market today are Greece's ongoing debt problems, attempts by China to cool down the country's hot economy and a U.S. senate committee hearing on the extent to which Goldman Sachs benefited from the collapse of the housing market. These will temper the better-than-expected earnings reported by Canadian National Railway Co. (TSX:CNR) after markets closed Monday, which kicked off the first heavy week of Canadian earnings season on a bright note. CN earned a better-than-expected $511 million in its first quarter, due mainly to higher freight volumes, a higher fuel surcharge and increased freight rates, offset in part by a stronger Canadian dollar. The railway also forecast "solid double-digit growth" this year. In New York, stock futures were lower across the board. Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell eight points, or 0.1 per cent, to 11,143. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 4.00 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 1,204.20, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 4.75 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 2,042.50.

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