TSX may open lower as Europe rattles markets

(Reuters) - Canadian stocks looked set to open lower on Wednesday along with commodities on investor fear of contagion from the weakest debt-ridden euro zone economies such as Greece into bigger ones such as Italy, Spain and even France.

FACTORS TO WATCH

* Canadian equity futures pointed to a lower open.

* U.S. stock index futures fell as policymakers warned that Europe's debt crisis posed dangers to the global economy and Italian bond yields remained at elevated levels in a sign of ongoing risk aversion.

* European shares pared gains and turned negative in choppy trading, with traders citing doubts about how successful the European Central Bank was in buying sovereign bonds to reduce yields.

COMMODITY PRICE MOVES

* The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index .CRB, a global commodities benchmark, fell 0.30 percent in early trade.

* Brent's premium to U.S. crude fell to its lowest since May, eroded by lower supply levels in the United States and a return of Libyan crude.

* Gold traded lower under pressure from the weakness in the euro, which fell even though the European Central Bank eased some of the pressure on the government bond market, as alarm escalated over the spreading debt crisis.

* Copper slipped as worries about a worsening economic outlook in the euro zone outweighed supply and demand fundamentals in swaying the direction of metals prices, while buying of bonds by the European Central Bank steadied sentiment.

CANADIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

* Jaguar Mining (JAG.TO: Quote): China's Shandong Gold Group has made a $1 billion offer to fully acquire the company, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

* Metro Inc. (MRUa.TO: Quote): The grocery chain's profit fell 8 percent in the fourth quarter, hurt by the costs related to closing of two facilities.

* Enbridge Inc. (ENB.TO: Quote): The company may increase the size of its proposed 800,000 barrels-per-day Wrangler crude oil pipeline after the United States postponed approval of rival TransCanada's (TRP) Keystone XL Canada-to-Texas line, an Enbridge executive said on Tuesday.

* Opti Canada Inc. (OPC.V: Quote): The Canadian government on Tuesday approved China National Offshore Oil Corp's C$2 billion deal for struggling oil sands operator.

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS

Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters.

* Allied Properties REIT (AP_u.TO: Quote) price target raised to C$25.50 from C$24 at RBC

* Alterra Power Corp (AXY.TO: Quote) target price cut to C$0.65 from C$0.70 at National Bank Financial

* Anderson Energy (AXL.TO: Quote) target price raised to C$0.85 from C$0.60 at Salman Partners

* Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$60 from C$61 at National Bank Financial

* Canacol Energy Ltd (CNE.TO: Quote) price target raised to C$0.90 from C$0.80 at CIBC

* CIBC (CM.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$85 from C$87 at National Bank Financial

* Alliance Grain Traders Inc (AGT.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$24 from C$26 at CIBC

* IC Potash Corp (ICP.TO: Quote) price target raised to C$1.60 from C$1.35 at National Bank Financial

* InnVest REIT (INN_u.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$5.75 from C$6.25 at RBC

* Martinrea International Inc (MRE.TO: Quote) price target raised to C$12 from C$11 at CIBC

* Mediagrif Interactive (MDF.TO: Quote) price target raised to C$16 from C$13.75 at National bank Financial

* Migao Corp (MGO.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$5.50 from C$6 at CIBC

* Osisko Mining Corp (OSK.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$23 from C$24 at CIBC

* RBC (RY.TO: Quote) price target cut to C$58 from C$59 at National Bank Financial

* San Gold Corp SGR.TO price target cut to C$3.80 from C$4.10 at National Bank Financial

* TD Bank TD.TO price target cut to C$92 from C$94 at National Bank Financial

* Waldron Energy Corp (WDN.TO: Quote) rating cut to sector perform from outperform at National Bank Financial

($1= $1.02 Canadian)

(Reporting by Anil Kumar; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)