Falling commodity prices and disappointing retail sales figures in the United States for June proved an early drag on the markets Wednesday. In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index opened lower, down 15.70 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 11,657.14 as commodity prices fell. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude oil was down 42 cents to $76.74 U.S. a barrel. Gold also fell $6.00 to $1,207.30 U.S. an ounce. The Canadian dollar was flat to slightly lower in early trading. As the markets opened, the dollar was unchanged from Tuesday's close of 96.74 cents U.S.. "News that Rio Tinto has reported a two per cent fall in output due to slowing demand from China has commodity currencies, like CAD, slightly weaker into the open," Scotia Capital chief currency strategist Camilla Sutton said in a morning note, adding, "risk aversion, interest rates and the global growth outlook are the key drivers for USD-CAD movement." There was little economic news out of Canada on Wednesday. The only significant report came from the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, which said the number of bankruptcies in the country declined 1.3 per cent in April, and were down 21 per cent from a year earlier. Filings by consumers — who were hardest hit by the recent recession as companies slashed jobs and cut production — fell 1.7 per cent to 8,633 in April, while business failures were up 7.9 per cent to 435. "A reduction in insolvencies in the transportation and warehousing, construction, manufacturing, and other services — except public administration — sectors contributed to this decrease," the agency said. The news was different south of the border, however. While major companies such as Alcoa and Intel have provided an optimistic start to earnings season by beating expectations, news out of Washington on Wednesday dampened enthusiasm somewhat. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales fell in June by 0.5 per cent, the second month in a row of falling sales. "Slower growth in retail sales coupled with a host of other recent sluggish indicators, points to a moderation in the pace of economic growth," said Alistair Bentley, a research analyst at TD Economics, in a morning note. Typically, faster retail sales growth could be expected five to six quarters after a recession, he added. "That said, we are not alarmed by this, and have been anticipating a more tepid pace of economic growth as the economy confronts a series of structural challenges." BMO Capital Markets senior economist Jennifer Lee noted that despite the declines, sales are higher than they were at this time last year. Still, the news helped push the Dow Jones industrial average lower in early trading. It was down 8.18 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 10,354.84. The technology-heavy Nasdaq, on the other hand, got a boost from Intel's bright forecast on Tuesday and was 6.91 points higher, or 0.31 per cent, at 2,248.94. Asian markets rose on Wednesday, while at midday in Europe all of the major markets were in negative territory. On Tuesday, the S&P/TSX composite index closed up 107.08 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 11,672.84. In the U.S., the Dow Jones closed up 146.75 points, or 1.43 per cent, to 10,363.02. The Nasdaq rose 43.67 points, or 1.99 per cent, to 2,242.03.

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